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ARRATIVE miF 




Messrs. MOODY- SANKEY'S 



LABORS IN 



SCOTLAND AND IRELAND 



ALSO, IN 



MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, AND BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 




ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION, 



5-1 1 



THE' WORK IN SCOTLAND. 



EDINBURGH, . . . . 




12 


-31, 54 6l 


DUNDEE, . . . 




31-32 


GLASGOW, . 






33-51 


PAISLEY AND GREENOCK, . 






51-54 


THE WORK ELSEWHERE IN SCOTLAND: 






62 


PERTH, .... 






62 


DUNDEE, 






62 


ABERDEEN, . i 


. 




63, 69 


FORFARSHIRE, 






65 


TAIN, . - . ' . . 






65 


HUNTLY, 






66 


NAIRN, 






67 


ELGIN, 






67-68 


THE LAST WEEK IN SCOTLAND, 






71-72 



BELFAST, 

LONDONDERRY, 

DUBLIN, 



THE WORK: IN IRELAND. 



73-80 
81-82 
82-95 



MANCHESTER, 

SHEFFIELD, 

BIRMINGHAM, 



THE WORK IN ENGLAND. 



96-1 10 
110-115 
115-117 




NARRATIVE 



OF 



Messrs. MOODY AND SANKEY'S 



LABORS IN 



SCOTLAND AND IRELAND. 



ALSO, IN 



MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, AND BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 



so 



3? IS7o „ . 



NEW YORK: 

ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY, 

770 Broadway, Cor. 9th Street. 

1875. 







COPYRIGHT, 1875, BY 

Anson D. F. Randolph & Company. 



ROBERT RUTTER, 
BINDER, 

84 BEEKMAN STREET, N. Y. 



EDWARD O. JENKINS, 
PRINTER AND STEREOTYPER. 

20 NORTH WILLIAM ST., N. Y. 



.->■■■ 



% 



NOTE 



The following Narrative of the Religious Awakening in Great Britain 
and Ireland has been compiled from the voluminous correspondence of 
the British Evangelist, and The Christian, two weekly journals 

published in London. 

In the preparation of this Narrative it was found necessary to 
condense the original matter, in order to bring the volume within 
reasonable limits. The aim of the editor, however, has been to present 
a consecutive account of the development and progress of the work in 
each of the places where it was prosecuted, and it is believed that the 
American reader will, in these pages, obtain something like a compre- 
hensive view of this wonderful movement, and its immediate and marvel- 
ous results. 

It is the design of the present publishers to issue in April or May, a 
supplementary pamphlet, which shall embrace an account of the subse- 
quent labors of Messrs. Moody and Sankey in other parts of England. 

February, 1875. 



INTRODUCTION. 



MESSRS. MOODY AND SANKEY. 



THE HISTORY OF THEIR WORK. 



IT is for obvious reasons desirable, when 
strangers like Messrs. Moody and San- 
key are exciting so much interest, and 
producing so great an impression, that the 
public should be made acquainted with the 
circumstances that have brought them into 
the position which they now occupy. It 
ought to be known that they have not run 
unsent, and have not taken upon them- 
selves, without due cause, the responsibil- 
ity of the work which they are now carry- 
ing on. A brief sketch of the chief facts 
in Mr. Moody's life will show clearly how 
this matter stands. 

Mr. Moody was born in the year 1837, 
in the State of Massachusetts, in the 
district which was the scene of the great 
awakening,under Jonathan Edwards, about 
a hundred years before. But so far from 
his inheriting anything from that remark- 
able movement, he had not even heard 
the Gospel of the grace of God till he was 
about seventeen years of age. Going about 
that time to Boston, to be trained for busi- 
ness in the establishment of an uncle, he 
one day went into the church of Dr. Kirk, 
a Congregational minister in that city. 
There, for the first time, he listened to an 
evangelical sermon. It had the effect of 
making him uncomfortable, and he resolv- 
ed not to go back. He felt that his heart 
had been laid bare, and he wondered who 
had told the preacher about him. Some- 
thing, however, induced him to go back 
next Sunday, and the impression was re- 
newed. A Sunday-school teacher in whose 
class he had been, having come to see him 
and ask for him at his place of business, 
he opened up his mind to him, and he 
was enabled to enter into that peace and 
joy in believing to which he has been the 
instrument of introducing so many. 

Not very long after this, Mr. Moody left 
Boston and proceeded to Chicago, where 
he entered into business for himself. Be- 
ing full of the desire to be useful, he went 



into a Sunday-school, and asked the super- 
intendent if he would give him a class. In 
this school there were twelve teachers and 
sixteen pupils ; and the answer to his ap- 
plication was that if he could gather a class 
for himself he would be allowed to teach 
them. Mr. Moody went out into the streets, 
and by personal application, succeeded in 
bringing in a score of boys. He enjoyed 
so much the work of bringing in recruits, 
that instead of teaching the class himself, 
he handed it over to another teacher, and 
so on, until he had filled the school. Then 
he began to entertain the notion of having 
a school of his own. He went to work in 
a neglected part of the city. Sunday is 
the day devoted by many to concerts, 
balls, and pleasure generally. Mr. Moody 
saw that to succeed in such a population, 
a school must be exceedingly lively and 
attractive, and as he observed that the 
Germans made constant use of music in 
their meetings, he was led to consider 
whether music might not be employed 
somewhat prominently in the service of 
Christ. Not being himself a singer, he 
got a friend who could sing to help him, 
and for the first few evenings the time was 
spent between singing hymns and telling 
stories to the children, so as to awaken 
their interest and induce them to return. 
A hold having in this way been established, 
the school was divided into classes, and 
conducted more in the usual way. 

This school became the basis of wider 
operations. After a time a lively interest 
in divine things began to appear among 
the children. This led to the holding of 
meetings every night, and to the offering 
of prayers and delivery of addresses suit- 
able to the circumstances of the children. 
These meetings began to be attended also 
by the parents, some of whom shared the 
blessing. It may be stated here that some 
of those young persons who were converted 
at this time, remain to the present day the 

(5) 



IN TROD UCTION. 



most valuable and active coadjutors in the 
work with which Mr. Moody is associated 
in Chicago. 

In most cases neither the children nor 
their parents had hitherto been connected 
with any Christian Church. Mr. Moody 
began to find himself constrained to sup- 
ply them with spiritual food. At first he 
encouraged them to connect themselves 
with other congregations. But it was 
found that in these they were next to lost 
or swallowed up : they felt themselves 
strangers, sometimes unwelcome strangers, 
while they lost all the benefit of neigh- 
borhood, mutual interest, and combina- 
tion in the worship of God. Gradually, 
therefore, Mr. Moody felt shut up to tak- 
ing charge of them, and supplying them 
with Christian instruction. Both school 
and church continued to increase, the 
school amounting to about a thousand, 
and suitable buildings were erected through 
the liberality of friends. Mr. Moody had 
by this time given up business, so that he 
might be free to give his whole time and 
attention to the work. As he felt himself 
called by the Lord to this step, he re- 
solved to decline all salary or allowance 
from any quarter, and trust for his main- 
tenance solely to what it might be put into 
the hearts of God's people to contribute. 
Being quite destitute of private means, 
this resolution showed that his faith in a 
divine call to give himself to Christian 
work was capable of bearing a great strain. 
At the same time, while adopting this 
course for himself, he has never pressed it 
upon others, unless they should clearly 
see it to be their duty. And while be- 
lieving himself called to a kind of supple- 
mentary work in the ministry, he is very 
far from prescribing the same rdle to 
others. On the contrary, he is the steady 
friend of a regular ministry, being fully 
persuaded that in " ordaining elders in 
every city," the apostles meant to set up 
the permanent platform of the Christian 
Church. Mr. Moody is delighted to obtain 
the co-operation of the clergy ; and among 
the many subjects of congratulation and 
thankfulness which his visit to Edinburgh 
has supplied, one of the most important 
has been, that from the very first he has 
been received most readily by the minis- 
ters, and has obtained from all denomina- 
tions very cordial support. The clergy 
have shown by this that they take the 
same view substantially as Mr. Moody 
himself of the relation of the regular to 



the irregular ministry. While believing 
the ministry to be a divine institution, 
they do not believe that it monopolizes the 
grace of God for the conversion of men 
and the upbuilding of the Church. God 
may move out of the regular course, and 
often does to show His sovereignty and to 
impress the truth. " Not by might, nor 
by power, but by my Spirit, saith the 
Lord." 

Mr. Moody had acquired a position of 
much influence in the United States in 
connection with Sunday-school and mis- 
sion work, when the war broke out be- 
tween North and South. This led to a 
new turn being given to his labors. There 
was a large camp in the neighborhood of 
Chicago, to which he gave much attention, 
going there night after night and striving 
to bring the soldiers under the influence 
of divine grace. When the Christian 
Commission was organized, under the 
presidency of his friend, George H. Stuart, 
of Philadelphia, Mr. Moody became one 
of his most energetic coadjutors. . He did 
not go into the army as an agent of the 
Commission, but he was President of the 
Executive branch for Chicago, and nine 
different times he went to one or other 
of the scenes of warfare, remaining some 
weeks and working with all his might. 
These services with the army were of no 
little use, not only in producing direct 
fruit, but also in developing that prompt 
and urgent method of dealing with men, 
that strenuous endeavor to get them to 
accept immediate salvation, which is still 
so conspicuous a feature of his mode of 
address. With wounded men hovering 
between life and death, or with men in 
march, resting for an evening in some 
place which they were to leave to-morrow, 
it was plainly, so far at least as he was con- 
cerned, the alternative of " now or never;" 
and as he could not allow himself or allow 
them to be satisfied with the " never," he 
bent his whole energies to the "now." 

Mr. Moody's labors in the army were 
often much blessed. Of all his campaigns 
of this kind there was none on which he 
looked back with more pleasure than one 
in the State of Tennessee, in connection 
with troops under the command of Gene- 
ral Howard. That General being in the 
fullest sympathy with Mr. Moody, their 
work together was very earnest and much 
blessed. 

The war being ended, Mr. Moody had 
more time to develop his work in Chicago. 



INTROD UCTION. 



To set others to work in the vineyard had 
long been one of his chief aims, and by 
means of the Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation, in which he took a great inter- 
est, he was highly successful. It is to be 
observed, that in America these associa- 
tions are much larger and more influential 
than they usually are in this country, and 
that their operations ramify over a much 
more extensive sphere. Mr. Moody strove 
to inspire the Chicago Association with 
his own spirit, and to send them to work 
in the vineyard. The hall of the asso- 
ciation became one of the stated scenes 
of his own labors. The association was 
very, unfortunate in the matter of fires — 
its first building having been burnt down 
in 1867, and its second in the great fire of 
Chicago in 187 1. According to Mr. David 
Macrae, " the lightning city " showed such 
activity of movement that the money for 
the second building was all subscribed be- 
fore the fire had completed the destruction 
of the first. This, we believe, is some- 
what hyperbolical ; but in sober truth, the 
arrangements for the restoration of the 
building after the first fire were made with 
wonderful rapidity. The new building 
contained a hall of enormous size. Mr. 
Moody was accustomed to preach to his 
own people in the morning, to superintend 
a Sunday-school of about a thousand in 
the afternoon, and to preach again in the 
evening in the hall of the Young Men's 
Association. 

In October, 187 1, occurred the terrible 
fire which destroyed a great part of Chi- 
cago. Mr. Moody, with his wife and two 
children, was roused in the middle of the 
night to find the fierce fire approaching 
their dwelling, and, leaving his house and 
household gear to their fate (all the prop- 
erty he possessed), had to hurry along to 
seek shelter in the houses of friends. Mr. 
Moody's school and church, as well as the 
buildings of the Young Men's Christian 
Association, perished likewise in the con- 
flagration. The feelings of himself and 
his fellow-citizens, on going to see the 
ruins, can hardly be conceived. But after 
the first stunning sensation was got over, 
faith and hope revived. In one month 
after the fire, a temporary erection was 
completed ! No small energy must have 
been required to accomplish this, amid the 
confusion, the bustle, and the infinity of 
things that had to be attended to. But 
reared the wooden building was, and it 
has served the purpose of church and 



school till now, when a new and substan- 
tial building is sufficiently advanced to 
allow the basement story to be used for 
public services. 

Besides what he did for his own place 
of meeting, Mr. Moody took an active 
part in putting things in order after the 
fire. As President of the Young Men's 
Association, and having under him a staff 
of active workers, he received the contri- 
butions of many friends. Among the 
rest, the sum contributed by Edinburgh, 
approaching, if we remember rightly, to 
^2,000, was consigned to the care of the 
Mayor and himself. He fully shared in 
the feeling of affectionate gratitude which 
the ready help of this country on that oc- 
casion inspired. Many were moved to 
tears by that token of good-will and sym- 
pathy ; it was hardly credible to them that 
Great Britain should be hastening to their 
help. There is less danger now of such 
men misunderstanding the real feeling of 
England towards the United States. 

It was shortly before the fire that Mr. 
Moody and Mr. Sankey began to work 
together. Mr. Sankey was in business 
somewhere in Pennsylvania, and Mr. 
Moody, happening on some public occa- 
sion to sit near him, was attracted by his 
beautiful voice. The thought struck him 
that Mr. Sankey would be a valuable as- 
sistant to him in many ways, in the Sun- 
day-school, in the church, and in the 
training of the Young Men's Christian 
Association. He accordingly entered into 
an engagement with him, and he has come 
with Mr. Moody to this country to help 
him in his work by conducting " The Ser- 
vice of Song." Mr. Moody has always 
been eager to secure music — and especial- 
ly good music — as an aid in preaching the 
gospel. It is his belief that the gospel 
may be presented in song as well as in 
speech, and that while the song has a mar- 
velously attractive power, it is also fitted 
to express better than plain speech the 
emotion suitable to the truths of the gos- 
pel. Abhorring the notion of providing a 
musical entertainment merely to please 
those who are not in the kingdom of 
God, he seeks to move their hearts and 
win them to Christ by truth expressed 
in the most winning tones. The idea of 
profaning the worship of God by utter- 
ing sacred words not felt by the singer, 
would be revolting ; but it must occur to 
every one who has heard Mr. Sankey that 
the charm of his service is in the blending 



8 



IN TROD UCTION. 



of his heart with his song. There is not 
only no similarity, but an absolute con- 
trast between Mr. Sankey's hymns and 
the performances of paid professional 
singers, who will often sing the most sa- 
cred words, not because they are feeling 
them, but to let the audience hear how 
well they can sing. It is also in subser- 
vience to spiritual ends that Mr. Sankey 
uses the harmonium. It has been found 
quite compatible with spiritual and hearty 
worship; and the probability is, that at 
extra meetings, for Sabbath-schools, con- 
gregational soirees, children's churches, 
and the like, its use will now become 
more common among us. 

When things had settled down after the 
Chicago fire, Mr. Moody began to think 
of permanent premises for his school and 
church. A suitable site was secured, and 
it was resolved to proceed with the erec- 
tion of a large and commodious building, 
which, besides accommodation for the 
schools, will have a hall or church, con- 
taining sittings for 2,500. The cost of 
the whole will be about ^"20,000. Mr. 
Moody, by his disinterested labors, has 
made so many friends all over his country 
that the contributions have flowed freely 
from all parts. Among the most interesting 
was a colossal subscription from 500,000 
Sabbath-school children, of five cents each, 
all anxious to have a brick in Mr. Moody's 
tabernacle. From Pekin he received a 
contribution of $300 from an unknown 
friend. A few converted Chinamen col- 
lected a few dollars even from their Pa- 
gan countrymen. A little while ago it 
seemed likely that the whole sum neces- 
sary would be provided, but the collapse 
in business which has occurred may de- 
prive the enterprise of some of the expect- 
ed contributions. 

We are not aware what were the deeper 
reasons that induced Mr. Moody to de- 
vote the time which he is now giving to 
evangelistic work in this country. We 
should suppose that he was influenced by 
the feeling that the churches here stand 
specially in need of the application of 
those brisker, livelier, more direct modes 
of appeal which are more characteristic 
of America. He may have thought that 
there was a great amount of solid knowl- 
edge and doctrinal orthodoxy here, and 
that if it could only be kindled up by a 
spark from heaven, the results would be 
very remarkable. The immediate cause 
of his coming over to spend a year was | 



that he was invited by two gentlemen — 
Mr. Pennefather, of London, and Mr. 
Bainbridge, of Newcastle. It was a singu- 
lar circumstance that both these gentlemen 
died before or about the time of his arri- 
val. The time selected for his visit to this 
country was very characteristic of the man. 
His new church had begun to be built, 
and his schools and congregation were 
soon to be transferred from the temporary 
building to the basement story (all that is 
yet ready) of the new one. Most pastors 
would have thought that at such a time 
there was a special reason for their staying 
at home. Mr. Moody, however, felt that 
were he to stay, the burden of a thousand 
little things would be thrown on him, 
which others could arrange as well as he 
could, and which in his absence they 
would have to arrange. Not having had 
a house of his own since the fire, he was 
less tied to home, and his family being, 
like all Americans, fond of traveling, his 
wife and children have come with him. 
In regard to the spiritual superintendence 
of the congregation, it is supplied in a 
large measure by members of the flock, 
with occasional help from other pastors. 
Mr. Moody trains his people to be inde- 
pendent in fact, as they are Independent, 
in name. It may be stated, however, that* 
in one respect the congregation is Presby- 
terian ; it is governed by a session, not 
by the whole membership. We under- 
stand that Mr. Moody has found no reason 
to regret that his congregation and schools 
have been left under this kind of arrange- 
ment, the reports of their welfare and 
progress being very satisfactory. 

On arriving in this country in mid- 
summer of last year, Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey's first field was York. Their 
progress there was slow. They had to 
win their way to the confidence of the 
people, and that by slow degrees, as at 
first they had none of the clergy to back 
them, and there was a general suspicion 
or uncertainty with regard to them. The 
other towns visited in the north of Eng- 
land were Sunderland, Newcastle, and 
Carlisle. In some of these the impression 
produced was very great. Newcastle espe- 
cially responded in a wonderful way. The 
work of grace seemed to advance there 
wonderfully, and the power of Heaven 
fell on the hearts of the people. Some 
friends in Edinburgh, hearing of what was 
doing in Newcastle, invited Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey to pay a visit to Edinburgh. 



IN TROD UCTION. 



9 



Mr. Kelman, of Leith, went twice to New- 
castle to judge of the work for himself, 
and returned full of joy and expectation. 
Accompanied by Mr. Sankey, Mr. Moody 
came to Edinburgh about the middle or 
towards the end of November. Here 
they were received with much cordiality 
by influential members both of the clergy 
and the laity. Our readers are familiar 
with the progress of the work in this city 
and in Leith. Mr. Moody has taken a 
remarkable hold of the people of Edin- 
burgh ; and of Mr. Sankey's influence, if 
there were no other evidence of it, it 
would be enough that his hymns have be- 
come popular melodies, and that they are 
being sung or hummed everywhere by old 
and young. 

What are the elements of Mr. Moody's 
power ? He is not a man of much educa- 
tion or culture ; his manner is abrupt and 
blunt ; his speech bristles with American- 
isms ; his voice is sharp, rapid, and collo- 
quial ; and he never attempts anything 
like finished or elaborate composition. 
But he is in downright earnest. He be- 
lieves what he says ; he says it as if he 
believed it, and he expects his audience 
to believe it. He gets wonderfully near 
to his hearers, without any apparent effort. 
Whatever size the audience may be, he is 
at home with them at once, and he makes 
them feel that they are at home with him. 
He is gifted with a rare sagacity, an insight 
into the human heart, a knowledge of what 
is stirring in it, and of what is fitted to im- 
press it. He has in his possession a large 
number of incidents and experiences well- 
fitted to throw light on the points he em- 
ploys them to elucidate, and to clench the 
appeals which he uses them to enforce. 
In addition to all this, he has a deeply 
pathetic vein, which enables him to plead 
very earnestly at the very citadel of the 
heart. At first his tone may seem to be 
hard. He will* take for his text, " There 
is no difference," and press the doctrine 
of universal condemnation as if the worst 
and the best were precisely alike. Pos- 
sibly the antagonism of his audience is 
somewhat roused. But by and by he 
will take them with him to some affecting 
deathbed, and his tone will show how pro- 
foundly his own heart is stirred by what 
is happening there. The vein of pathos 
comes out tenderly and beautifully. He 
seems as if he were lying on the ground 
pleading in tears with his hearers to come 
to Christ. But, most important of all, he 



seems to rely for effect absolutely on divine 
power. Of course, every true preacher 
does, but in very different degrees of con- 
scious trust and expectation. Mr. Moody 
goes to his meetings, fully expecting the 
divine presence, because he has asked it. 
He speaks with the fearlessness, the bold- 
ness, and the directness of one delivering 
a message from the King of kings and 
Lord of lords. And he takes pains to 
have his own heart in the spirit of the 
message. He tries to go to his audience 
loving them, and actively and fervently 
longing for their salvation. He says that 
if he does not try to stir up this spirit of 
love beforehand, he cannot get hold of an 
audience ; if he does, he never fails. He 
endeavors to address them with a soul 
steeped in the corresponding emotion. 
He seems to try, like Baxter, never to 
speak of weighty soul concerns without 
his whole soul being drenched therein. 

With all this, there is in Mr. Moody a 
remarkable naturalness, a want of all ap- 
proach to affectation or sanctimoniousness, 
and even a play of humor which spurts 
out sometimes in his most serious ad- 
dresses. Doubtless he gets the tone of 
his system restored by letting out the 
humor of him after a long day's hard and 
earnest work. For children he has obvi- 
ously a great affection, and they draw to 
him freely and pleasantly. We should 
fancy him a famous man to lead a Sunday- 
school excursion party to the country, 
and set them agoing with all manner of 
joyous and laughing games. We are sure 
he himself would be the happiest of the 
party, enjoying the fun himself as well as 
pleased at their enjoyment of it. The 
repression of human nature, or the run- 
ning of it into artificial moulds, is no part 
of his policy. We are sure he must agree 
with the late Dr. Guthrie, that there is 
nothing bad in human nature except its 
corruptions, and that our aim should be 
not to destroy it or any part of it, but to 
get it restored, as God at first made it. 
His instincts of sagacity make him recoil 
from all onesidedness, and desire that men 
and women, under God's grace, should 
hide no true accomplishment, and lose no 
real charm. 

At public meetings, Mr. Sankey seldom 
goes beyond the singing, except to say a 
few words connected with his hymns, or 
to give some little incident fitted to en- 
courage and stimulate. The feeling thrown 
into his singing and the beauty of the 



IO 



IN TROD UCTION. 



singing itself are his great charms. Mr. 
Sankey is very particular about distinct- 
ness of articulation, and in his solos every 
word and syllable may be heard as dis- 
tinctly by his audience as if he were 
speaking. In the after meetings, Mr. 
Sankey takes a more prominent part. He 
converses with the anxious, and gives 
them suitable instruction and counsel. 
Mr. Moody's mode of dealing with the 
anxious is marked by great urgency. He 
shuts them up to a decision, and will 
hardly let them out of his hands till they 
have announced their purpose to give 
themselves to Christ. 

It would be difficult to say if ever 
Edinburgh has heen moved to a similar 
extent in connection with spiritual things. 
The Reformation, no doubt, was a great 
spiritual movement, and there were other 
great movements in the seventeenth cen- 
tury. In July, 1741, George Whitefield 
came to Edinburgh, after having been in 
many parts of Scotland, and his move- 
ment was wonderful. A week had not 
elapsed before concern about salvation 
began to break out. The broken in heart 
would come to him about the dawn of 
day, and at seven o'clock every evening 
he had a service in the open air in the 
park of the Orphans' Hospital, where the 
North British Railway Station now is. 
Later in the day he had another service, 
and in the evening he was again visited 
by the anxious. Three weeks after he 
came he writes like one amazed, and says 
he Verily believes there are three hundred 
in the city anxious about their souls. He 
does not know how he is to tear himself 
away from Scotland. But Edinburgh 
then had probably not more than one- 
sixth the population it has now, and as 
they were all living closely and compactly 
in the Old Town, a spiritual movement 
had fewer physical obstacles and difficul- 
ties. The movement now going on is 
probably of much larger dimensions, even 
proportionally, than that under Whitefield. 
Thirty years ago William Burns held large 
meetings in Edinburgh, but the community 
was not roused in anything like the de- 
gree in which it is roused now. One great 
effect of the movement now going on in 
Edinburgh is, that other parts of the coun- 
try are getting into the spirit of hope and ex- 
pectation. Whenever this spirit is awaken- 
ed, spiritual results are likely to follow. 
Whitefield ended his Scotch campaign 
where Moody and Sankey have begun 



theirs. We trust that no less a blessing 
may rest on their labors than on his, and 
that they too may find, when the term for 
their return draws nigh, that they cannot 
yet tear themselves from Scotland. — Ab. 
from The Daily Review, Jan. 6 th. 



MR. SANKEY'S MUSIC AND 
SINGING. 

No stranger who has ever visited Glas- 
gow has been privileged to sing to such 
numerous, crowded, and attentive audi- 
ences, as Mr. Sankey. He has intro- 
duced amongst us a style of music which 
to a great extent is new in public worship. 
In Scotland, our service of praise has 
been hitherto chiefly confined to the use 
of psalms. In many of our churches, 
hymns have been used to a considerable 
extent, and gradually this style of music 
is finding its way among all denominations. 
Mr. Sankey has given us a clearer under- 
standing of what is meant under the third 
division of the apostle's classifications, 
viz., spiritual songs. He literally " sings 
the gospel," just as truly and not less 
powerfully than his friend Mr. Moody 
preaches it. This element of solo singing 
in public worship is quite new to us in 
Scotland, and has proved to be so effec- 
tive, so attractive, and has been so much 
blessed amongst us, that it is to be hoped 
that many who are gifted with the power 
of song, may take courage, and be in- 
duced to follow Mr. Sankey's example, 
and use this power of song as a new means 
of bringing the truths of the gospel be- 
fore the masses of our people. The charm 
and power of Mr. Sankey's singing are its 
intense earnestness, and the clear, plain, 
simple enunciation of every word sung. 
It is manifest to every one that he feels 
intensely the truth he is singing, and that 
he is determined that every one shall hear 
it and feel it also. He comes with a divine 
message to his audience, and sets himself 
to make it known to every one and to be 
realized by all ; hence the deep impression 
produced by his singing. What he sings 
is nothing new to us, but how he sings is 
very new indeed. His songs are simple. 
The subject is the old, old story. The 
words are plain and pleasant, but nothing 
extraordinary ; often not to be compared 
to those of our well-known psalms and 
hymns. The music is generally pretty 
and pleasant, but little more ; a small por- 



IN TROD UCTION. 



ii 



tion of it has any claim to originality. 
Much of it is so Scottish and Irish in its 
construction that to our people familiar 
with such music, it is sometimes difficult 
to realize that what we hear is sacred song. 
Usually short turns and strains remind us 
irresistibly of something we know, but 
cannot recall. In some of the melodies 
the effect is more marked. Who does not 
feel the sweetness of familiar Irish melody 
in " Sweet by-and-by," and the " Valley of 
Blessing," and the thorough Scottish ring 
in such songs as " Hold the Fort," " Sweet 
Hour of Prayer," " The Gate Ajar," " Here 
am I, send me," and many others. It takes 
us by surprise to hear gospel truth wafted 
in the strains of our national music ; but 
is it not possible that this may be the true 
though unexpected reason why these sim- 
ple songs have found such a direct and 
wonderful entrance to the Scottish heart ? 
Mr. Sankey has a fine, full, soft, baritone 
voice, well trained, and over which he has 
complete mastery — the organ he uses as a 
mere accessory, though sometimes its help 



is not beneficial — for instance, in the song 
" I am so glad," the effect of the compound 
triple time is very striking, being quite un- 
known to us in church music, but the organ 
having no accent cannot mark this effect, 
and the first line is always heard in a mo- 
notonous staccato style, which unfortu- 
nately our audience are too ready to fol- 
low. When Mr. Sankey sings clearly out, 
so as to drown the organ, it is all right, 
but when our choirs and congregations 
are left alone to sing this song, they do so 
in an undecided common time greatly 
marring its beauty. In the chorus the 
effect is generally better, for the marked 
accent of the words helps to keep them 
right. Mr. Sankey's singing has not the 
least pretension to be artistic : nothing 
can be more plain and natural. The 
music with him is a secondary matter : 
the words are of the first importance. He 
sings the words and brings out their full 
meaning and expression. The music is 
made subservient, and in time and accent 
is constantly varied, so as to fit the words. 



THE WORK IN SCOTLAND. 



EDINBURGH, 



I. 



PRAYER AND FASTING. 

Nov. 28, 1873. — We are having a very- 
good time here just now, under the preach- 
ing of Mr. Moody and the singing of Mr. 
Sankey. 

We are all delighted with them ; minis- 
ters of all denominations are joining cor- 
dially in the work, and God is indeed 
working graciously. About 2,000 are out 
every night hearing; many more come 
and cannot get into the church. Two 
churches are to be opened simultaneously 
each night next week. 

The singing of Mr. Sankey lays the 
gospel message and invitation very dis- 
tinctly and powerfully on the consciences 
of the people ; and Mr. Moody's gospel is 
clear, earnest, distinct, and well illustra- 
ted — telling of death and resurrection — 
the " gospel of God." He is a first-rate 
workman, and very practical, and God 
has been blessing his preaching. 

Every evening there has been a number 
of souls coming into the inquiry rooms; 
but last night, when preaching on " the 
Son of man came to seek and to save that 
which was lost," the Spirit seemed to 
be working in special power, and old 
Formality got his neck broken, and the 
wounded and weeping souls came into the 
inquiry meeting in droves. I had to speak 
at one time to seven all at once, because 
there was more corn than reapers; and 
others were similarly circumstanced. I 
saw Mr. Moody all the evening with gen- 
erally more than one. Three rooms were 
open for inquirers, and I don't know what 
they had in the others, but we had about 
forty names on the paper at the close, of 
those we conversed with in our room. 
Mr. Moody keeps with us in the elders' 
vestry. Others, who are less susceptible 
and can stand at doors, do so, and lay 
hold of the people as they retire. About 
one hundred, I should think, were spoken 
with privately last night, and numbers of 
them decided for Christ. About ten did 
so (or professed to do so), in conversation 
with myself. May the Divine Spirit make 
it a grand reality to their souls that Christ 



is theirs ! On Tuesday night I had seven 
who professed conversion. 

On Wednesday I fought away with two 
only, both chronic cases, deep in the mire 
of their own thoughts, and feelings, and 
reasonings, and I left them very much the 
same as I found them. (One of them has 
been saved.) This was, I suppose, to 
teach me this lesson, that it is altogether 
God's work to save, and man is powerless. 

This experience made me go out next 
night with Jesus' word on my lips, " This 
kind goeth not out but by prayer and fast- 
ing S " prayer is the symbol of our depend- 
ence upon God, and fasting is the symbol 
of " no confidence in the flesh " — or self- 
renunciation. No devil has so powerful a 
hold of an anxious soul but that prayet 
and fasting will cast him out in the name 
of Jesus. 

Our noon prayer - meeting is well at- 
tended ; about 700 are out daily, and there 
is a remarkable quickening and earnest- 
ness among ministers and Christians gen- 
erally. I know Edinburgh well, and I 
am safe to say that I never knew a time 
when there was a greater appearance of 
harmony among Christians ; unity among 
the Lord's workers ; and humble, prayerful 
waiting upon God for blessing. 



II. 

"I HAVE FOUND JESUS." 

Dec. 2, 1873. — The work here still makes 
good progress. On Friday there was much 
blessing to Christians, and numbers of 
souls were also brought in. On that even- 
ing we had delightful work in the in- 
quiry meeting, and, I think, I had about 
half-a-dozen I had good hope of. One 
was .specially interesting, a stranger from 
beyond Stirling. She was passing through, 
came to the meeting, heard, was awaken- 
ed, came into the inquiry meeting, and 
into my hands, along with a girl of twelve, 
and both professed to see the way of sal- 
vation in Acts xiii. 38, 39. This woman 
was astonished to hear that she had just 
to believe what she read there to be saved. 
She said, " Is that all? have I only to be- 



EDINBURGH. 



13 



lieve it ? " " Just to believe that forgiveness 
is yours as a gift from God." " Then I do 
believe." " Then God says you are jus- 
tified from all things." 

On the Lord's-day morning Mr. Moody 
preached very effectively to Christians in 
Dr. Andrew Thompson's Church, and in 
the evening there were three meetings, 
one in the Barclay Church, another in 
Viewforth Free Church, and a third in 
Fountainbridge Church. About 3,000 
heard the Word from Mr. Moody that 
day. 

Mr. Moody preached first in Barclay 
Church at six o'clock, then Viewforth at 
7:45. Then he went down to Fountain- 
bridge Church, where Dr. Bonar had been 
preaching till he came, but they had des- 
paired of Mr. Moody coming; and just 
as we were at the church door we met the 
people coming out, which seemed rather 
provoking, but Mr. Moody said, " We'll go 
back and get the inquiry meeting at View- 
forth Church," and just as we got back 
the inquiry rooms were filled — there look- 
ed like 200 — but there were many workers 
among them — about one-half were Chris- 
tians. 

One soul, we saw, took Christ there ; 
but I had quite a number at the Barclay 
Church, where I had conversed with the 
anxious for one hour previously. It was now 
ten o'clock, and we left off and came home 
filled with joy in the Lord over new-born 
souls. We are thankful for the interest 
manifested, and the first drops of the 
plentiful rain. 

Large numbers were out again last 
night, and we had a meeting for inquirers 
at the Free Assembly Hall. About forty 
confessed that they were new converts, 
and about forty stood up as anxious to be 
saved, and were asked to go to the other 
side of the hall, where they were conversed 
with. 

I got down beside a young lady whom 
I saw anxious last night in the inquiry 
meeting, but did not have the opportuni- 
ty of speaking to her, and kept at work for 
an hour with her over the Word of God. 
I could not tell you at length the deep in- 
terest of this case ; but at the close I had 
some hope that she has divine life and will 
yet get liberty. 

A beautiful incident happened as I was 
speaking to her. A young girl bounded 
up to us and said, with an overflowing 
joy, " I am the girl you spoke to at the 
Barclay Church and gave the book to; 



now I am just going, but could not leave 
without coming to tell you that / have 
found Jesus." 

We had a very sweet meeting at noon 
to-day. Mr. Moody gave us the prayers 
that God does not answer — Moses, Elijah, 
Paul. I pointed out to him afterwards, 
to his great delight, that Moses' prayer 
was answered, to see the land 1483 years 
afterwards, but not as in the midst of 
Israel, but in better company, with Jesus 
in the midst, on the mount of transfigura- 
tion ; and he saw the land in the light of 
the glory of Christ. And when he re- 
turned he did not care a bit for the land. 
He was all taken up with Christ, and in- 
stead of speaking of it or the goodly moun- 
tain and Lebanon, he and Elias spake to 
Him of His decease that He should ac- 
complish at Jerusalem, the thing nearest 
his heart. That is the sight we, too, shall 
get of it (if we do not see it now) when 
He comes in His glory, and all His saints 
with Him. 



III. 

THE FIRST NIGHT IN BROUGH- 
TON PLACE CHURCH. 

Tuesday Night, Dec. 2d. — We have had 
a most impressive address from Mr. Moody 
this evening in Broughton Place Church, 
on the text, " Where art thou ? " He spoke 
very solemnly to Christians, and said if 
they were to wake up, Edinburgh would 
be filled with awakening from one end to 
the other, inside of forty - eight hours. 
Then he spoke to sinners, and it was most 
alarming. The three steps to hell, he said, 
were — 

1. Neglect ; 2. Refuse ; 3. Despise. 

He told them, even weeping, of their 
danger, and besought them to get the 
question settled now. Ah, it is that ten- 
der, weeping power in dear Mr. Moody, 
that is so overwhelming to sinners. He 
is now preaching in one of the best and 
largest churches of the New Town, and 
yet he has been quite as faithful as when 
among the poor last week in the Old 
Town ; and there have been some marked 
cases of awakening. Mr. Sankey's singing 
of " Jesus of Nazareth " had a fine effect 
upon them. I saw it striking in upon the 
hearts of many ; and many weeping eyes 
told of its power. A widow in front of 
me, with her little boy by her side, was 
moved deeply, and publicly addressed by 



14 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



Mr. Moody, listened with very wistful eyes ; 
and both of them came to the second 
meeting. I was anxious about the result 
of the inquiry meeting in that church, and 
they were rather long in coming in, but it 
turned out nearly as good as before. About 
fifty were conversed with this first night, 
and there seemed to be quite a number 
that believed. 

The first I got hold of was a working 
man ; and after showing him in the Word 
the way of life and peace, and getting him 
to decide, he said : 

" My wife 's here." 

" Where ? " 

" Sitting there by herself." 

" Please bring her here." 

She, too, professed faith in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and they went home together 
believing. 

Then I got a youth about eighteen in a 
terrible state of anxiety, and wrought with 
him a long time, and though hopeful, I do 
not know that he sees clearly ; but he lives 
near me, and I hope to see him again to- 
morrow. The life is in, I believe, but he 
wants liberty. 

Then I got a word with about a dozen 
besides, and gave them books. 

I saw three all at once profess Christ in 
Mr. Moody's hands. 

But there were chronic cases that baf- 
fled the whole of us, and after ten o'clock 
there was a man in a corner to whom Mr. 
Gall had spoken all night, who was all but 
desperate with conviction. Mr. Moody 
prayed with him, and he was bowed down 
and weeping, but we had to leave him still 
in bondage, showing how entirely it is 
God's work to set a soul free. 

A thing of some special interest to me 
happened as I was giving in the names. 
The recorder said to me, " Mr. Reid, you 
are my wife's spiritual father." 

I said I was not aware of it. " When 
was it ? " 

" It was in the last revival about twelve 
years ago, and she used to attend all your 
meetings when you lived in Edinburgh." 

I said I was glad to hear it, and, most 
likely, I would know her if I saw her. 

It is delightful to find fruit " after many 
days ; " it gives one more confidence and 
hopefulness that what we are now seeing 
in blossom will ripen into precious fruit." 



IV. 

FAITH. 

To-night {Thursday, Dec. 4,) we have 
had a good time. Mr. Moody preached 
on faith. But you will know what it was 
when I tell you that it was scriptural, and 
it was very convincing. Mr. Sankey sang 
" Jesus of Nazareth passeth by." There 
was a power in it ; many wept. At the 
close I had three or four anxious sinners, 
and about as many anxious saints. Mr. 
Moody had a goodly number professing 
faith in his hands. Others also were busy. 
I had some interesting cases of saints in 
darkness who again got light. Just as I 
was leaving, Mr. Moody put into my 
hands a young lady who had been con- 
versed with by one and another all the even- 
ing; and just as I spoke the very last 
word I intended to speak to her, her face 
was lighted up with joy, and she said, " I 
now trust in the Lord Jesus." Dr. Thom- 
son remarked as we were coming out, that 
he thought it had been a night of more solid 
work than any we have yet had. One 
good thing in being in one of the New 
Town churches is, that " the poor rich," 
as a noble worker calls them, have got a 
chance for their souls. The most respec- 
table men and women have been plentiful 
in the meeting, and not absent from the 
inquiry rooms. The poor have far more 
privileges and opportunities of being saved 
than the better classes. But they, too, are 
getting a chance now ; and we have seen 
some marked instances of salvation among 
them. We returned home, praising God 
for His grace and blessing. 



V. 

THE INQUIRERS' MEETING. 

Dec. 5, 1873.— I desire to give you an 
inkling of the work in the inquiry meeting 
as I have seen it for the past fortnight. I 
have observed that Mr. Moody speaks to 
inquirers with an open Bible in his hands, 
fixing them down to the Word of God, and 
anchoring their souls on the living rock of 
the Holy Scriptures. He also gets them to 
their knees in prayer ; and I have seen them 
rising from his side by twos and threes, 
wiping their weeping eyes, and smiling 
through their tears, confessing Christ. 

My conviction is, that in the inquiry 
room in the Barclay Church, where we 



EDINBURGH. 



15 



were, not fewer than fifty souls appeared 
in a hopeful way to continue their journey 
heavenward, during the first week. 

This week, and especially on Friday 
night, there have been, we believe, as 
many in the rooms below the Broughton 
Place Church ; and Dr. Thomson said on 
Friday night before we left, " I think there 
could not have been fewer than one hun- 
dred inquirers here to-night, and I think 
more have professed faith in Christ than 
any night." It was very cheering to see 
the great heartiness with which Dr. Thom- 
son entered into the work of the inquirers' 
meeting ; and also to see other ministers 
there, in considerable force, from his own 
church and other churches engaged in point- 
ing sinners to Christ. Having been every 
night at work for an hour and a half in the 
inquiry meeting, and judging of the work 
from seeing about forty come to Christ in 
my own hands, I judge that the Lord is 
doing marvelous things among us, whereof 
we are glad. 

Seven professed faith in Christ all at 
one time in one company, and we had a 
conviction that it was reality in at least 
four of them. On Friday night, after Mr. 
Moody's solemn word, there seemed to be 
a great smashing up of souls (as Mr. Rad- 
cliffe used to call it), and among others, a 
lady came into my hands from San Fran- 
cisco, California, here for the healing of 
her body ; and her trouble was that the 
Spirit, she thought, had left her. We 
showed that her anxiety to be saved and 
her clinging to Christ were evidences to 
the contrary ; and she left after ten min- 
utes' conversation in a state of blessed 
emancipation and comfort. She was 
brought to me by one who got out of 
bondage the night before ; and I said, 
" Perhaps you will be bringing two each 
on Sunday night." Thus the work of 
the inquirers' meeting is self-propagating. 



VI. 

WEEPING FOR A NIGHT, JOY IN 
THE MORNING. 

The last case we dealt with on Friday 
night was the most solemn we have seen, 
except that man who was specially prayed 
for in the noon - day meeting the other 
day, and saved that night. This was a 
young woman weeping floods of tears. 
She complained of a hard heart, and fear- 
ed the scorn of the ungodly when she 



went home ; she faintly professed faith in 
Christ. 

I felt such an interest in this girl that 
I could not sleep without sending her a 
line by post, inviting her to comfe next 
day that my wife might read the Scrip- 
tures with her, and tell her more about 
the Lord Jesus. She came : I was at a 
meeting I have on Saturday evening. We 
made special prayer for her, and the per- 
son who led us seemed to get near to 
God, and we had a conviction that we 
were heard. It was so; for on my re- 
turn home, I was met with the cheering 
intelligence, " The girl has been here : I 
have read with her for nearly two hours ; 
and she has just left, saved and happy. 
She said she faintly believed last night, as 
you said, but she is now at liberty, and 
says she never saw the fullness and free- 
ness of salvation as she sees it now. Her 
eyes were red and swollen with weeping 
last night; but she was looking bright 
and smiling; and the only tears she 
wept were tears of expressed gratitude, 
that Jesus had received her, and that we 
had been so interested in her as to care 
for her for Jesus' sake as we had done." 
We have seen her since, and she is look- 
ing unto Jesus; but her demeanor is quiet 
and subdued, and she looks as one would 
do who had just escaped from drowning, or 
from a terrible railway collision. 



VII. 

THE SATURDAY MEETING. 

Dec. 6. — We have had a meeting to-day 
for parents and children. It assembled — 
about 2,000 were present ; the parents got 
a good word. Our dear brother Sankey's 
singing happily gave the gospel to the 
children in a number of gospel hymns. 

Mr. Moody addressed parents from 
Deut. iv. 5-1 1 ; v. 29; vi. 7. Some young 
people think they hear too much about 
Christ and salvation from their parents, 
but here they have authority from God to 
speak of them, morning, noon, and night ; 
when lying down and rising up ; when sit- 
ting in the house and walking by the way. 
There should be the most diligent instruc- 
tion of the young by parents, storing their 
minds with the Word of God. 

Then from Mark x. 13-17 he addressed 
the children, and said that this is the only 
time when Christ was said to be much dis- 
pleased. He told of the daughter of an 



i6 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



infidel dying in peace, after being only five 
weeks at the Sunday school. Also, of a 
boy of twelve, who heard Dr. Chalmers 
preach, and came, at the close of the ser- 
vice, and said he had nothing to give, but 
he would give himself to Christ. He did 
so, and has been the means in our country 
of establishing many Sabbath-schools, with 
tens of thousands of scholars, and out of 
them have grown as many as thirty-eight 
churches, in which are many precious 
souls saved and happy, all through this 
boy coming to Christ and giving himself 
to Him. 



VIII. 

MESSRS. MOODY AND SANKEY IN 
BROUGHTON PLACE CHURCH. 

After the labors of Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey in Broughton Place Church 
for a week, I am sure you will give me 
some space in your paper for the state- 
ment of a few facts and impressions. 

I should consider it a very superfluous 
work to say anything of the trustworthi- 
ness of these excellent men. They have 
come amongst us not as unknown adven- 
turers without " letters of commendation," 
but as long-tried and honored laborers in 
the fields of evangelism in their own coun- 
try, and more recently in Newcastle and 
other towns in the north of England, where 
there appears to have been a pentecostal 
blessing in which every denomination of 
Christians has shared. And the ministers, 
and elders, and deacons of our different 
churches that have gathered around them 
every evening, and shared with them in 
their blessed work, prove the confidence in 
which they are held by those in whom the 
Christian people of Edinburgh are accus- 
tomed to place confidence. 

The service of song conducted by Mr. 
Sankey, in which music is used as the 
handmaid of a gospel ministry, has al- 
ready been described in your columns. I 
have never found it objected to except by 
those who have not witnessed it. Those 
who have come and heard, have departed 
with their prejudices vanquished and their 
hearts impressed. We might quote, in 
commendation of this somewhat novel 
manner of preaching the gospel, the words 
of good George Herbert : 

" A verse may win him who the gospel flies, 
And turn delight into a sacrifice." 



There is nothing of novelty in the doc- 
trine which Mr. Moody proclaims. It is 
the old gospel — old, yet always fresh and 
young, too, as the living fountain or the 
morning sun — in which the substitution of 
Christ is placed in the centre and present- 
ed with admirable distinctness and de- 
cision. It is spoken with impressive di- 
rectness, not as by a man half convinced 
and who seems always to feel that a skep- 
tic is looking over his shoulder, but with a 
deep conviction of the truth of what he 
says, as if, like our own Andrew Fuller, he 
could " venture his eternity on it," and 
with a tremendous earnestness, as if he 
felt that " if he did not speak the very 
stones would cry out." The illustrations 
and anecdotes, drawn principally from his 
strangely-varied life, are so wisely chosen, 
so graphically told, and so well applied as 
never to fail in hitting the mark. 

I wish once more to call attention to 
one essential feature in the action of these 
good men — the daily noon-day meeting 
for prayer. It began some weeks ago in 
an upper room in Queen Street Hall. 
That was filled after a few days. Next it 
was transferred to Queen Street Hall, 
which is capable of holding 1,200 persons. 
It was not long ere this became over- 
crowded, and now there are full meetings 
every day in the Free Assembly Hall, 
which is capable of holding some hun- 
dreds more. It is a fact with a meaning 
in it, that simultaneously with the increase 
in the noon-day meeting for prayer has 
been the increase in attendance in Brough- 
ton Place Church at the evening addresses, 
and also in the number of inquirers after- 
wards. Before the end of last week every 
inch of standing-ground in our large place 
of worship was occupied with eager listen- 
ers, and hundreds were obliged to depart 
without being able to obtain so much as a 
sight of the speaker. The number of in- 
quirers gradually rose from fifty to a hun- 
dred per night, and on Monday evening 
this week, when the awakened and those 
who professed to have undergone the 
" great change,"" were gathered together in 
our church hall, to be addressed by Mr. 
Moody, no other persons being admitted, 
there were nearly three hundred present, 
and even these were only a part of the 
fruits of one week. I wish to give prom- 
inence to the statement that the persons 
who conversed with the perplexed and in- 
quiring were ministers, elders, and dea- 
cons, and qualified private members of 



EDINB URGH. 



i7 



our various churches ; and also Christian 
matrons and Bible-women, as far as their 
valuable services could be secured. 

And now, at the close of the week of 
special services in Broughton Place Church, 
I wish to repeat the statement in your pa- 
per which I made on Monday in the As- 
sembly Hall, that there is no week in my 
lengthened ministry upon which I look 
back with such grateful joy. I would not 
for the wealth of a world have the recol- 
lection of what I have seen and heard 
during the past week blotted out from my 
memory. When Howe was Chaplain to 
Cromwell at Whitehall, he became weary 
of the turmoil and pomp of the palace, and 
wrote to his " dear and honored brother," 
Richard Baxter, telling him how much he 
longed to be back again to his beloved 
work at Torrington. " I have devoted 
myself," he said, " to serve God in the 
work of the ministry, and how can I want 
the pleasure of hearing their cryings and 
complaints who have come to me under 
convictions." I have shared with many 
beloved brethren during the past week in 
this sacred pleasure, and it is like eating 
of angels' bread, first to hear the cry of 
conviction, and yet more to hear at length 
the utterance of the joy of reconciliation 
and peace ! 

I was much struck by the variety among 
the inquirers. There were present from 
the old man of seventy-five to the youth 
of eleven, soldiers from the Castle, stu- 
dents from the University, the backsliding, 
the intemperate, the skeptical, the rich 
and the poor, the educated and the uned- 
ucated ; and in how many instances were 
the wounded healed and the burdened re- 
leased ! 

It may be encouraging to Christian 
parents and teachers to be told that very 
much of this marvelous blessing, when 
once begun in a house, has spread through 
the whole family, and those who already 
had the knowledge of divine truth in their 
minds by early Christian education, formed 
by far the largest proportion of the con- 
verts. The seed was there sleeping in the 
soil, which the influence from above quick- 
ened into life. 

There was a considerable number of 
skeptics among the inquirers, but their 
speculative doubts and difficulties very 
soon became of no account when they 
came to have a proper view of their sins. 
Some have already come to tell me of 
their renunciation of unbelief, and their 



discipleship to Christ. One has publicly 
announced that he can no longer live in 
the ice-house of cold negations, and has 
asked Mr. Moody to publish the address 
which brought light to his heart, and to 
circulate it far and wide over the land. 

I witnessed no excesses in the inquiry 
rooms, but there was often deep and melt- 
ing solemnity, sometimes the sob of sor- 
row, and the whispered prayer of contri- 
tion or gratitude. There must, however, 
occur at times imprudent things and 
excesses in connection with even the best 
works that have imperfect though good 
men employed about them. But cold 
criticism that is in search of faults, or 
ultra-prudence that attempts nothing from 
fear of making mistakes, is not the temper 
in which to regard such events. I would 
not dare to take either of these positions, 
" lest haply I should be found to be fight- 
ing against God." 

I have already expressed my high appre- 
ciation of Mr. Moody's manner of address- 
ing. If some think that it wants the polished 
elegance of certain of our home orators, it 
has qualities that are far more valuable ; 
and even were it otherwise, the great thing 
is to have the gospel of the grace of God 
clearly and earnestly preached to the mul- 
titudes who are crowding every night to 
listen to him. When the year of jubilee 
came in ancient times among the Jews, I 
suspect the weary bond-slave or the poor 
debtor cared little whether it was pro- 
claimed to him with silver trumpets or 
with rams' horns, if he could only be as- 
sured that he was free. — I am, etc., 
Andrew Thomson. 

63 Northumberland Street, 
Edin., Dec. 9, 1873. 



IX. 

December jth. — There was a meeting at 
Broughton Place Church — two thousand 
present. Another at Free Lady Glen- 
orchy's Church — one thousand present. 
Mr. Reginald Radcliffe was in the Free 
Assembly Hall — fully one thousand pres- 
ent; so that upwards of four thousand 
heard evangelistic preaching. The meet- 
ings have been full of interest — hundreds 
cut up by the truth, and the gospel preach 
ed in the power of the Holy Ghost. 
Christians seem filled with joy, and ready 
to take each other to their bosoms; there 



i8 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



is such a fine spirit of love and unity per- 
vading their minds. 

Mr. Moody was speaking of the sinners' 
excuses in Luke xiv. this evening at both 
the meetings. 

A number of blind children were awak- 
ened. There were also some good cases 
here too among men and women, as well 
as at the other church. I have been 
preaching in a neighboring town, but I am 
told that Mr. Moody has preached like a 
giant to-night, and there was great power. 
Mr. Sankey had also much power in sing- 
ing, " Prodigal Child " and " Free from 
the Law." 



SECOND MEETING WITH YOUNG 
CONVERTS. 

Monday, Dec. 2>th. — This evening there 
was a prayer-meeting in Dr. Thomson's 
church, and the inquirers met Mr. Moody 
in the room below along with those who 
had been recently converted. About seven- 
ty stood up and told of the blessing they 
had received through Mr. Moody's pleach- 
ing and the Word of God as it had been 
brought before their minds. This indi- 
cates a considerable awakening ; for I 
judge that for every one who comes to the 
inquiry meeting to be conversed with, 
there must be nine who go home with the 
arrow of conviction in their souls. Few 
could summon up courage to go there and 
face strangers. The most part go home to 
weep, and pray, and read, and ponder 
alone. 

There has been some very blessed work 
this evening. There seemed to be a 
goodly number of inquirers, and men and 
women well qualified to speak with them. 
We were occupied with four young men 
for the greater part of the evening, and 
they all professed faith in Christ, but we 
fear they only saw men as trees walking ; 
but if there is life the liberty will come by- 
and-by. On going to ask Mr. Moody to 
come to speak with them, I found him at 
the door trying to find out the condition 
of all that went out. Just as I went up to 
him, he was saying to three ladies, " Oh, 
surely you will not think of leaving with- 
out Christ. He will converse with you." 

And so saying, he got them down on a 
seat, and me beside them, and left. I 
could judge from their Bibles, that were 
well marked, that they were not careless 
persons, but probably Christians who 
would not like to commit themselves by 



saying they were " saved," t>ut who had a 
secret trust in Christ ; and I think I was 
right, for no sooner did I bring before 
them in an earnest and personal way one 
or two texts, than they seemed deeply in- 
terested ; and as they were troubled that 
they had not sufficient conviction of sin, 
they appeared to be greatly helped by 
being told that I had no deep conviction 
of sin — in fact no appreciable conviction 
of sin at all ; but that I felt a want, and 
was drawn to Christ by His personal love- 
liness, and that the sin-crisis came a year 
afterwards. After this I took them to the 
precious Word, in Romans iii. 24-26, and 
they all professed faith in Jesus; and I 
gave them back into Mr. Moody's hands, 
and they all left confessing Christ. At this 
very moment a lady came to me and said, 
" Dear sir, will you come and see a girl 
over in yon corner that nobody can make 
anything of? She says she came to hear 
Mr. Moody preach ; she has never been 
able to get here before, and he has not 
preached, and she is disappointed and 
angry, and says she did not come here to 
be spoken to." I went at once, asked her 
to come to a quiet place where I could 
see her alone ; but she sat like a marble 
statue and refused to come. I went to her 
and tried to win her confidence, but could 
not get her to enter into conversation. 
At first I tried her with Acts xiii. 38, 39, 
which had been so blessed to others, but I 
felt it was useless, and the sentiment in 
the word of Jesus being present in my 
mind, " This kind goeth not out but by 
prayer and fasting," I looked for direction, 
and turned to 1 Peter ii. 24. She felt for 
her handkerchief. I looked in her face 
and saw a tear trickling down her cheek, 
and at length I heard her speak. " What 
are you saying ?" I inquired. " That was 
my father's text," and she wiped away her 
tears and told me how her father had died 
prepared for heaven eight months ago, and 
this was the text he had rested on. "And you 
believe your father is in heaven ?" " Yes." 
" And you, too, can be prepared, now, just 
where you sit, to be with your father in 
heaven, and with the Lord Jesus, just by 
believing your father's text." I felt deep- 
ly interested in her case, and by entering 
sympathetically into her great sorrow, 
gained her attention to the gospel, and she 
left professing faith in her father's text and 
her father's God. He knows her heart. 
May He finish the work He has begun ! 
Next day, as I was talking to a Free 



EDINBURGH. 



19 



Church minister, and telling him of this 
interesting case, and the direction I got to 
the right word, he told me it was all true, 
for he was the minister who visited the 
dying sailor, and that he had given him 
the text, " Who His ownself bare our sins 
in His own body on the tree ; " and he 
continued, " I had a hope of -him (he took 
his word back, and said), I should not say 
hope, but more than hope ; the man died 
a believer in Christ." He said he would 
call for her and look after her. Do not 
those leadings look remarkably like as if 
she were a sheep of Christ's fold, and that 
the Good Shepherd is raising up one 
means after another to get her laid upon 
His shoulder ? One under-shepherd is 
sent to call her by the gospel, another to 
shepherd her in the right ways of the 
Lord. 

After this, when standing near the door, 
the lady who had got relief regarding sin- 
ning away the Holy Ghost, came up to me 
and said, " I wanted to see you, to tell you 
how astonished I was, on going home and 
seeing your name on the book given me, 
to find that you were the author of ' The 
Blood of Jesus,' a book given me in Aus- 
tralia, on my marriage, by my husband's 
aunt ; and it was the first religious book I 
ever read with any interest. It struck me 
much that after traveling round the world, 
I should come into contact with the au- 
thor of that book, to be set at liberty, that 
I might rejoice in God's salvation. The 
circle is now completed, and I am saved." 
Her husband is in America, and she is 
here under an eminent physician. Her 
soul is free. May the Lord bless and 
keep her through faith unto salvation ! 

At the noon-day prayer-meeting to-day, 
one who spoke said, " When I was a young 
man, people thought that I was going into 
consumption, and I consulted a physician, 
who used only a very few of the most 
powerful medicines. He gave me a dose 
that made me sleep for two days, and I 
could not be awakened; and when I 
came out of it, I had a sense of being 
poisoned, and a most unquenchable thirst ; 
but from that day I grew better. He 
nearly killed me, but he cured me. So 
when I get a very powerful spiritual 
remedy in the form of a text, I keep to it 
in conversing with anxious souls : and one 
I have seen very much used is, ' Be it 
known unto you therefore, men and breth- 
ren, that through this man is preached 
unto you the forgiveness of sins : And by 



Him all that believe are justified from all 
things, from which ye could not be justi- 
fied by the law of Moses.' I generally 
take them on to that kindred passage, 
Rom. iii. 24-26, which explains it. And 
if that does not effect my purpose, I lead 
them on to Rom. x. 9, ' That if thou shalt 
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, 
and shalt believe in thine heart that God 
hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt 
be saved.' The great thing for solidity 
and liberty is to get them to rest on the 
Word of God, and have a true knowledge 
of the work of Christ." 

The person in charge at the place of 
meeting, who was anxious to have the 
place cleared in an orderly way at a cer- 
tain hour, and the meeting solemnly dis- 
missed with prayer, met the objection 
raised against it by telling us a good story. 
He said, " I heard a minister telling how 
we were not to be saved, and then he said 
he would tell us how to be saved. But, 
he said, I had only a few minutes to stay, 
and I looked at my watch as he spoke of 
the w^ays in which we could not be saved, 
and I longed for him to come to the other 
side and tell us how we could be saved. 
But before he came to that, I had to 
leave ; and I did so, and what happened ? 
Before I had proceeded many steps on my 
way, it came into my mind that Christ is 
the way — ' I am the way, rhe truth, and 
the life ' — and I saw it all. That night a 
friend said, ' How could you see the way 
when you left before the minister came to 
tell the way to be saved ? ' I replied that 
I was obliged to leave ; but I did not need 
him to show me the way — the Lord re- 
vealed Himself to me. So if there is con- 
fidence in the God of all grace, the meet- 
ing can be closed at a seasonable hour, 
and servants and young people sent away 
in proper time, so as not to be out too late, 
interfering with family arrangements, and 
exasperating those not in sympathy with 
the work, and giving occasion to the ene- 
my to speak reproachfully." 



X. 



FREE CHURCH ASSEMBLY HALL. 

Dec. gth. — The Hall was filled to over- 
flowing. Mr. Moody began by praying 
for power, and that many to-night should 
be saved. Mr. Sankey sang, " That will 
be Heaven for me ! " Rev. Mr. Wilson 



20 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



read out the requests for, and led in 
prayer. Mr. Moody asked prayer for a 
lady in great distress of mind, and for 
another present to-night, given to drink. 
He prayed earnestly for both, especially 
that the latter should be saved from a 
drunkard's death, a drunkard's grave, and 
a drunkard's hell. 

Mr. Moody asked Mr. Sankey to sing a 
hymn composed on the dying words of a 
saint in Philadelphia, a few month ago, " I 
am sweeping through the gates, washed in 
the blood of the Lamb," which was sung 
with deep feeling, and prepared all for 
Mr. Moody, who announced that his ad- 
dress was for the inquiring, as well as the 
careless. 



XI. 

UNITED PRAYER FOR SCOTLAND. 

The following paper has just been issued, 
and sent to every minister of every de- 
nomination in Scotland. Let our readers 
put it into operation wherever they are : 

" Edinburgh is now enjoying signal 
manifestations of grace. Many of the 
Lord's people are not surprised at this. 
In October and November last, they met 
from time to time to pray for it. They 
hoped that they might have a visit from 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey of America, 
but they very earnestly besought the Lord 
that He would deliver them from depend- 
ing upon them, or on any instrumentality, 
and that He himself would come with 
them, or come before them. He has gra- 
ciously answered that prayer, and His 
own presence is now wonderfully mani- 
fested, and is felt to be among them. God 
is so affecting the hearts of men, that the 
Free Church Assembly Hall, the largest 
public building in Edinburgh, is crowded 
every day at roon with a meeting for 
prayer ; and that building, along with the 
Established Church Assembly Hall, over- 
flows every evening, when the gospel is 
preached. But the numbers that attend 
are not the most remarkable feature. It is 
the presence and the power of the Holy 
Ghost, the solemn awe, the prayerful, be- 
lieving, expectant spirit, the anxious in- 
quiry of unsaved souls, and the longing 
of believers to grow more like Christ, — 
their hungering and thirsting after holiness. 
The hall of the Tolbooth Church, and the 
Free High Church, are nightly attended 
by anxious inquirers. All denominational 



and social distinctions are entirely merged. 
All this is of the God of Grace. 

"Another proof of the Holy Spirit's 
presence is, that a desire has been felt and 
expressed in these meetings, that all Scot- 
land should share the blessing that the 
capital is now enjoying. 

" It is impossible that our beloved 
friends from America should visit every 
place, or even all those to which they have 
been urged to go. But this is not neces- 
sary. The Lord is willing Himself to go 
wherever He is truly invited. He is wait- 
ing. The Lord's people in Edinburgh 
therefore, would affectionately entreat all 
their brethren throughout the land to be 
importunate in invoking Him to come to 
them, and to dismiss all doubt as to His 
being willing to do so. 

The week of prayer, from 4th to nth 
January next, affords a favorable oppor- 
tunity for combined action. In every 
town and hamlet let there be a daily 
meeting for prayer during that week, and 
also as often as may be before it. In 
Edinburgh the hour is from 12 to 1, and 
where the same hour suits other places, it 
would be pleasing to meet together in 
faith at the throne of grace. But let the 
prayers not be formal, unbelieving, unex- 
pecting, but short, fervent, earnest en- 
treaties, mingled with abounding praise 
and frequent short exhortations; and let 
them embrace the whole world, that God's 
way may be known upon earth, His saving 
health among all nations. If the country 
will thus fall on their knees, the God who 
has filled our national history with the 
wonders of His love, will come again and 
surprise even the strongest believers by 
the unprecedented tokens of His grace. 
" Call unto me and I will answer thee, and 
show thee great and mighty things which 
thou knowest not." 

W. G. Blaikie, D.D., Professor, New College. 

Charles J. Brown, D.D., Free North Church. 

James Balfour, 13 Eton Terrace. 

H. Calderwood, Professor of Moral Philosophy, 

Lawrence G. Carter, Charlotte St. Bap. Chapel. 

A. W. Charteris, D.D., Prof, of Bib. Criticism 

John Cooper, late of Fala, U.P. 

G. D. Cullen, Royal Terrace. 

Cavan, 12 Lennox Street. 

Alexander Duff, D.D. 

William Dickson, 38 York Place. 

David Dickson, Merchiston. 

F. Brown Douglas, 21 Moray Place. 

William Grant, Bristo Place Baptist Chapel. 

William Hanna, D.D., 16 Magdala Crescent. 

John Kelman, Free St. John's, Leith. 

Robert Macdonald, D.D., Free North Leith. 

James Macgregor, D.D., Prof., New College. 



EDINBURGH. 



21 



John Macmurtree, St. Bernard's Church. 

John Millar, 26 York Place. 

W. Scott Moncrieff. St. Thomas' Episcopal Ch. 

John Morgan, Viewforth Free Church. 

David M'Laren, Redfern House. 

Duncan M'Laren, jun., Nevvington House. 

Samuel Newnam, Baptist Church, Dublin St; 

Maxwell Nicholson, D.D., St. Stephen's Ch. 

Polwarth, Mertoun House. 

Robert Rainy, D.D., Professor, New College. 

James Robertson, U.P., Newington. 

Moody Stuart, Free St. Luke's. 

E. Erskine Scott, 25 Melville Street. 

Andrew Thompson, D.D., Broughton Place Ch. 

John Wemyss, Richmond Place Congregational 

Church. 
Alexander Whyte, St. George's Free Church. 
Ninian Wight, Congregational Church. 
George Wilson, Tolbooth Parish Church. 
J. H. Wilson, Barclay Free Church. 
John Young, U.P., Newington. 



XII. 

"BRING HIM TO ME." 

FREE ASSEMBLY HALL. 

Dec. 1 ith. — Mr. Moody spoke from Mark 
ix. 14-30. Ver. 19 — " Bring him to me." 
Some complain that their prayers are not 
answered, but that is no reason for being 
weary or waxing faint. The thing is to 
inquire the reason why God keeps back 
answers to them. 

A lady came to me to-day and said that 
she feared her two sons were not going to 
be saved, but they will if she continues to" 
pray for them. Ver. 20 — Never did a 
sinner come to Christ yet, that the devil 
did not throw him down and try to pre- 
vent him. Ver. 21 — " From a child." 

This was a hard case ; he had inherited 
it. Ver. 23 — " To him that believeth all 
things are possible." You cannot believe, 
mother of these two sons; if you did, you 
would have the conversion of your sons. 
Oh, how easy it is for God to take the 
accursed appetite out of the most aban- 
doned drunkard, and restore him to a 
right mind ; as easy for Him to save as for 
me to turn my hand round ! 

" I charge thee, come out of him." A 
little time of praying and fasting, of being 
alone with God, of inquiry of Him in 
what way we hinder His blessing us, that 
is the thing which we want. 

During the American war, when hus- 
bands, fathers, and brothers were away on 
the battle-fields, their wives, daughters, and 
mothers learnt to pray, and many an hour 
was spent by them in their closets alone 
with God. The results were marvelous, 



and that, too, in the case of the wickedest 
and most depraved men in the army. 

One day at Nashville a great, strong, 
wicked-looking soldier came to me trem- 
bling. He said he had got this letter 
from his sister, six hundred miles away, 
and she said that she prayed to God, 
night after night, that he should be saved, 
and he said he could not stand to hear 
that, and he had come to give himself to 
Christ ; and there and then we knelt down 
together in prayer to God, he crushed and 
broken in heart. 

Oh, what a privilege we have in coming 
to God in prayer about our friends ! Our 
prayers may not be answered to-day; we 
may be in our graves before they are ■ but 
assuredly they will be answered sometime. 

Another soldier came to me and said he 
had got a letter from his mother, saying 
that she prayed morning, noon, and night 
for his conversion ; that this letter might 
be the last he would ever get from her, as 
he might be killed in battle. " I said when 
I got it, that I would wait till the war was 
over, and I would go home and settle 
down and be a Christian : but I hear to- 
day that mother is dead, that that letter 
was the last she ever wrote, so I have 
come to give myself to my mother's God," 
which he did. Both these men found 
peace in Jesus, and became bright and 
shining lights in the army. 



XIII. 

CHILDREN'S MEETING. 

Saturday, Dec. 13th. — There were about 
two thousand persons present at the noon- 
day meeting to-day, about one-half chil- 
dren and young people It was a time of 
much blessing, both in prayer, singing, and 
speaking the word of grace. 

Mr. Moody spoke very appropriately 
from the words, " I will hold thee by thy 
right hand." He showed that we need 
Jesus to save us, and then to take us by 
the right hand and lead us. He told a 
story of an ill-used dog having been 
thrust by a bad man through the grat- 
ings into the lion's den, and how that 
lion became its protector, and applied it 
to illustrate the truth that the Lion of 
Judah becomes our protector. 



22 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



XIV. 

TWO SOLDIERS. 

We saw some precious cases of resting 
on the Saviour in the Assembly Hall of 
the Church of Scotland. Among others, 
we were deeply interested in two soldiers. 
One of them said they had many warn- 
ings : a soldier who had been boasting the 
one day that he had not read the Bible 
since he was a boy, was drowned the next. 
I began there and laid before him from 
the Word of God the way to be ready for 
death in any form. Christ was pressed on 
him, and he professed his faith in Him. 
The other one was trembling all over with 
anxiety about his soul. I tried to anchor 
him on the Word of God's grace, and got 
a text fixed in his mind, on which he pro- 
fessed to rest. But I was not entirely 
satisfied that either of them saw the way 
of life clearly, though I considered them 
truly awakened. The next night, as I 
was speaking to an inquiring child, the 
soldier who had trembled with conviction 
the night before, came up to me with a 
look of assured peace and told me that the 
Lord had had mercy on him and saved 
him. 

"When was it, do you think?" I in- 
quired. 

" It was when I was lying awake at four 
in the morning thinking over the text that 
you gave me, that Jesus came into my 
heart." 

" The Lord be praised ! But now that 
you are pardoned, you will need to trust 
in Christ and abi-de in Him, and be strong 
in the Lord and the power of His might, 
and fight the good fight of faith and lay 
hold on eternal life. ' In the Lord have I 
righteousness and strength-' Ask God 
that, by His Holy Spirit, He may enable 
you to bear all opposition with firmness 
and meekness, witness a good confession, 
and seek to bring your comrades to Him." 

We heard of the other soldier that he, 
too, had come to Christ, and become one 
of His soldiers. 



XV. 

MEETINGS IN THE NORTH OF 
EDINBURGH. 

Dec. 20th. — There have been meetings 
held this week in the north of Edinburgh, 
in St. Stephen's, St. Bernard's, and Free 
St. Bernard's churches. Fully 2,000 have 



been out nightly, and have heard the gos- 
pel, both in preaching and song, in such a 
way as to bring home conviction to many 
consciences. Numbers have waited, and 
come to the second meeting for personal 
conversation, and some have found peace, 
as on the former evenings ; but we have a 
theory that only one in ten of the anxious 
wait : nine leave to weep, pray, and read 
in secret. The gospel is the power of 
God unto salvation to every one that be- 
lieveth, and thousands are hearing it in all 
its naked simplicity, and preached with 
the power of the Holy Ghost. For this 
we praise God ! Why should it ever 
cease ? Why not go round the city and 
rouse up every slumbering church, and get 
souls saved in thousands ? 

We met with one specially interesting 
case in St. Stephen's. It was that of a 
respectable married woman, who had felt 
as if there were something calling her to 
stay, and she tarried and received blessing. 
Satan was very busy to get me to leave the 
place, but he did not succeed. The gen- 
tleman who was conversing with her came 
up to me, and asked me to speak a little 
to her, which I did, and in course of con- 
versation she said — " I heard you preach 
at Auchincairn about ten years ago ; and 
my husband wrote to you, and has a tune 
of his in your " Praise-Book." 

This led to my asking her to tell him to 
come and see me some morning at nine 
o'clock. He came the next morning ; and 
after we had looked over some music to- 
gether, I asked him how his wife was feel- 
ing now ? He told me that she was very 
anxious to be sure she was right ; and he 
said, " I wish, Mr. Reid, you would speak 
to me too." 

" Then take that Testament, and let us 
read a little together." We read Rom. iii. 
24-26, and 1 John iv. 9-19, and other pass- 
ages, " giving the sense," and urging him 
to make a personal application of it to 
himself, and he would experience life and 
liberty. He did so, and went away, thank- 
ing me for my explanation of the Word, 
looking as if he had experienced the lib- 
erty of grace. The friend who introduced 
this woman to me saw them both, farther 
on in the afternoon, and reported to me 
that he had had as happy a time as he had 
ever had, talking with them over the Scrip- 
tures ; and he believes they both have got 
into the liberty wherewith Christ makes 
His people free. 

A Bible-woman came up to me the 



EDINBURGH. 



23 



other night, and said, " It was your book, 
* The Spirit of Jesus? that gave me the 
impetus that sent me out in this work. I 
got a great blessing in reading it." 
" Where were you at that time ? " 
" In Unst, one of the Shetland islands." 
We were glad to hear of this little bit of 
fruit after many days ; for it is ten years 
since we sent some hundreds of books to 
be distributed in Shetland, and have heard 
very little about the spiritual results. But 
everything the Spirit stirs up to do for 
Christ will be used by Him, whether we 
hear of it now or not (Eccles. xi. 6). 



XVI. 

BIBLE LECTURES IN FREE ST. 
GEORGE'S AND FREE ST. LUKE'S. 

There have been two Bible readings in 
Free St. George's Church, on Dec. 16th 
and 19th, on the Holy Spirit and Assur- 
ance ; and another in Free St. Luke's 
Church, on Dec. 23, on the Blood. 

Mr. Moody gives what is commonly 
known as a Bible reading — only he him- 
self does all the reading and speaking. 
About 1,500 were present, chiefly of the 
educated class. Many of the ministers of 
the various churches were present, and 
the effect on all these occasions was mark- 
ed and marvelous. Christians received a 
great blessing. 



XVII. 

SPECIAL MEETINGS. 

Mr. Moody has addressed some special 
meetings in Free Assembly Hall. 

On Sabbath morning, December 14, he 
addressed the young men of the Sabbath- 
morning Fellowship Union. 

On Friday, December 19, he preached 
to young men on being born again. 

On Sabbath morning, December 21, he 
addressed Sabbath-school teachers. 

The same evening he preached to the 
students of Edinburgh University and the 
New College, on " There is no difference." 
This was one of the most magnificent 
sights I have ever witnessed. On the 
platform with him were numbers of pro- 
fessors of both colleges, and, I believe, the 
majority of the students. The hall was 
densely crowded, and I question whether 
he ever addressed a more intelligent au- 
dience, or one that gave him more pro- 



found and riveted attention. Had they 
not had confidence in him, and felt his 
power, and, we trust, the higher power of 
God's Spirit and truth, they would not 
have sat for more than two hours with 
such quietness. He commanded that im- 
mense meeting, of about two thousand 
men, as no man on that platform, save Dr. 
Duff, could have done. The living power 
of God's Holy Spirit was felt giving the 
word, and laying conviction on the con- 
science. The gospel given at the end was 
most touchingly illustrated, and the very 
appropriate hymn sung by Mr. Sankey, 
" I am sweeping through the gates," gave 
a spiritual finish to the whole that had 
been spoken. It was an opportunity such 
as no man ever before enjoyed here; and 
we cannot doubt but that God has given 
and used it for the conversion of souls and 
the glory of Christ. 

THE ALL-DAY'S MEETING. 

This was held on December 17, the first 
meeting lasting six hours. Subjects — 1. 
Praise and joy. 2. Promises. 3. Prayer. 
4. Christian work; and 5. Heaven. 



XVIII. 

MEN'S MEETING AT THE CORN 
EXCHANGE. 

At half-past eight o'clock, December 
29, there was a meeting held in the Corn 
Exchange, Grassmarket, which was at- 
tended by about 3,000 persons belonging 
to the poorer classes. The Rev. Mr. 
Morgan opened this meeting with prayer. 

Mr. Moody began his address by telling 
the well-known story about Rowland Hill 
and Lady Erskine. Her ladyship was 
driving past a crowd of people to whom 
Hill was preaching. She asked who the 
preacher was, and, on being informed, 
told her coachman to drive nearer. Row- 
land Hill, seeing her approach, asked who 
she was, and when he was told, he said 
there was a soul there for sale. Who 
would bid, he asked, for Lady Erskine's 
soul ? There was Satan's offer. He would 
give pleasure, honor, position, and, in fact, 
the whole world. There was also, he said, 
the offer of the Lord Jesus, who would 
give pardon, peace, joy, rest, and at last 
heaven and glory. He then asked Lady 
Erskine which of these bids she would 
accept. Ordering her coachman to open 
her carriage-door, she pressed her way 



24 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



through the crowd to where the preacher 
was, and said, " Lord Jesus, I give my soul 
to Thee; accept of it." 

Mr. Moody went on to urge on his 
hearers to give themselves there and then 
to the same Saviour who was that day 
preached in the hearing of Lady Erskine, 
and accepted by her. He brought out the 
freeness of the gospel offer, and the im- 
portance of immediately closing with it. 
He mentioned several instances of con- 
version — one of them concerning a soldier, 
who had been at the meeting of the pre- 
vious night in that same hall, and who had 
afterwards gone up to the Assembly Hall, 
had received Christ there, and was now 
professing himself a Christian man. 

Mr. Sankey sang several of his hymns 
— "The Lifeboat," "Jesus of Nazareth 
passeth by," and "The Prodigal Child" 
being amongst them. 

The meeting on Sunday night (Dec. 
28) seems to have been the most extra- 
ordinary of all these meetings. Though 
there were about 5,000 persons present, 
the most perfect order was observed, and 
the deepest interest manifested in the pro- 
ceedings. After this meeting was over, 
hundreds pressed up to the Free Assembly 
Hall, and when the question was put if 
there were any there anxious about their 
souls and desiring to be saved, the whole 
body rose to their feet in answer to the 
question. The interest shown was such 
as many of those present had never be- 
fore seen in the course of a long ministry 
amongst the people. Mr. Moody expressed 
himself as more impressed by it than he 
had been by anything he had ever before 
seen. 

XIX. 

SATURDAY AND SABBATH MEET- 
INGS. 

On Saturday, at noon, the usual union 
prayer-meeting was held in the Free As- 
sembly Hall. Besides Mr. Moody, Mr. 
Robertson, Mr. Cooper, Mr. W. Dickson, 
Mr. Daniel, and Mr. John Wilson, took 
each an active part in it. Mr. Sankey was 
present during half of the hour, spending 
the remainder in the Established Assembly 
Hall, where another large meeting was 
held, under the presidency of the Rev. Mr. 
Wilson (Jan. 3d.) 

On Sabbath morning Mr. Moody deliv- 
ered an address to a crowded congregation 
in the Free Assembly Hall on " Daniel," 



with reference specially to the lessons to 
be learned from his life. Mr. Sankey sang 
appropriate hymns. 

Mr. Moody preached on Sabbath fore- 
noon in Free St. George's Church, his sub- 
ject being, "What Christ has done for 
man." This he treated very generally. In 
the afternoon Messrs. Moody and Sankey 
conducted evangelistic services in the Free 
Assembly Hall and the Free High Church 
at five o'clock, and in the Established As- 
sembly Hall and Free St. John's Church at 
six o'clock — 'these meetings being for fe- 
males only. The Jubilee Singers sang at 
each of these meetings. There was an im- 
mense meeting in the Corn Exchange, 
Grassmarket, at seven o'clock. The great 
hall was filled with people, who stood 
closely packed together in every part of it. 
There must have been between 6,000 and 
7,000 persons present. Short addresses 
were delivered by several ministers and 
laymen, frequent prayer engaged in, and a 
great number of hymns sung by Mr. San- 
key and the Jubilee Singers. These 
hymns had each of them a bearing on the 
thoughts or sentiments that formed the 
themes of the addresses by which they 
were preceded. There was the most per- 
fect quiet observed by the vast assemblage, 
and both addresses and hymns were list- 
ened to with the utmost attention. 

In his address Mr. Moody pointed out 
that though it was because of Adam's sin 
man was condemned, it was not because 
of it that any one would be lost, but be- 
cause they neglected to lay hold of the 
remedy. 

Mr. Moody preached to about fifteen 
thousand this first Lord's-day of 1874, at 
seven different times. His passion for sav- 
ing souls is self-consuming. Let all Chris- 
tians pray that he may be upheld by God, 
in body and soul, and blessed more and 
more. 

XX. 

EVANGELISTIC MEETINGS IN 
BERWICK-ON-TWEED. 

Tuesday, January 13th, was a mem- 
orable day in the religious history of 
Berwick. It having been announced that 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey were to visit 
the town on that day and hold meetings, 
large numbers of people were brought 
into the town by the several lines of rail- 
way, from distances of twenty and thirty 
miles. The forenoon trains down the vale 



EDINBURGH. 



25 



of the Tweed were extremely crowded ; 
but additional carriages were provided for 
the return journey. In one carriage, an 
interesting account of the Edinburgh 
meetings of the previous day was read 
from a daily paper ; in another carriage 
we heard the singing of hymns ; and in 
all, the one subject of conversation was 
the meetings to which most of the passen- 
gers seemed to be on their way. The 
readiness with which people were allowed 
to enter at the various stations into com- 
partments where there was only standing- 
room, was something new in the experience 
of railway, traveling. The first meeting 
began at noon, being the mid-day prayer- 
meeting, which is held daily in the Rev. 
James Stevens' church for one hour. The 
Rev. Mr. Chedburn presided, and short 
prayers were offered by a number of min- 
isters and laymen, between which hymns 
were sung with much spirit. Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey arrived from Edin- 
burgh shortly after the meeting commenc- 
ed, and both delivered short addresses. 
The under part of the church was filled, 
many strangers being present. Two 
meetings were held in the Corn Ex- 
change ; the former beginning at two o'clock 
p.m. The great hall of the Exchange was 
filled, and the passages occupied, though 
not so closely packed as in the evening. 
Mr. Sankey sang, and Mr. Moody preach- 
ed from Rom. iii. 22, " There is no differ- 
ence." The acoustic principles on which 
the hall is constructed are not good, and 
Mr. Moody was imperfectly heard in many 
parts ; but Mr. Sankey's fine voice was 
heard in every corner. Mr. Moody closed 
his discourse with the touching narrative 
of the return of a prodigal ; and Mr. 
Sankey immediately sang with thrilling 
effect his Christian song, " The Prodigal 
Child," beginning, " Come home, come 
home, thou art weary at heart," etc. It 
seemed to take the vast congregation by 
surprise, and was the first thing that 
powerfully affected them. It was most 
aptly chosen, and gave a very favorable 
illustration of what is called " singing the 
gospel." A number of anxious inquirers 
waited, and were conversed with after the 
meeting was closed. 

The next meeting was held in Wallace 
Green Church at six o'clock. The large 
church was well filled in the lower part, 
with a few people in the galleries ; but the 
great body of the people had gone to the 
Corn Exchange to wait till seven o'clock, 



the hour announced for commencing the 
service there. When Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey met with the ministers in Dr. 
Cairns' room at Wallace Green Church, a 
message was brought that the great hall 
of the Exchange was already filled in 
every part. Two ministers were then ap- 
pointed to address the vast assemblage 
while Messrs. Moody and Sankey were 
engaged in Wallace Green. The Rev. 
Messrs. Mearns, of Coldstream, and Leitch, 
of Newcastle, and afterwards Mr. Moody, 
addressed the audience in the Exchange. 
The male part of the audience seemed to 
preponderate. It was a vast mass of 
earnest listeners. We observed ministers 
of all denominations present from the 
towns and villages of the neighborhood, 
extending over a wide district, many of 
whom remained for the evening meeting. 
Reference was made in one of the ad- 
dresses in the Exchange to the case of a 
mother who, by believing, had entered 
into peace in the afternoon of that day, 
and requested thanks to be returned for 
the blessing she had received, and prayer 
to be offered for the recovery of her prodi- 
gal son. This was mentioned as the first 
convert of the day, and the fact was re- 
ceived as a proof of the presence of the 
Holy Spirit in answer to the prayers which 
had been offered for a great blessing to 
accompany the services of that day. This 
circumstance seemed to make a deep im- 
pression on the audience, and enabled 
them to realize the fact that the Spirit of 
God was indeed among them in answer to 
prayer. It was afterwards found in the 
inquirers' meeting that many had been so 
deeply impressed in the Exchange that 
they felt constrained to come among the 
anxious, asking to be directed to the Sav- 
iour. Mr. Sankey's singing excited won- 
derful interest. " Sweeping through the 
gates," " Jesus of Nazareth passeth by," 
and others, seemed to produce a deep im- 
pression. 

When Messrs. Moody and Sankey left 
Wallace Green for the Exchange, the 
meeting was continued in the former 
place, and addresses by the Revs. Dr. 
Cairns, R. Scott, of Berwick, and P. 
Mearns, of Coldstream. The audience 
gradually increased, till near the close of 
the third address, such a crowd rushed 
into the spacious church as to fill every 
passage above and below. It was soon 
explained that this was the second meet- 
ing, which had been adjourned from the 



26 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



Exchange to the church, where there 
were rooms for conversing with the 
anxious in a more private manner. After 
the protracted services of the day it might 
have been expected that all the people 
would have gone home, as it was now 
half-past eight o'clock, and many had been 
occupied with a succession of services 
from noon. The second meeting, too, 
possessed no peculiar attraction, consist- 
ing only of short addresses with praise 
and prayer. But the people were evi- 
dently moved by an influence which all 
could feel, but not fully explain. After 
two days, Dr. Cairns thus wrote of it to 
the Daily Review : " I cannot attempt to 
describe the appearance of Wallace Green 
Church at the evening meeting on Tues- 
day, when the overwhelming meeting in 
the Corn Exchange was dismissed, and 
those who gathered for prayer, with the 
anxious inquirers, crowded in to fill every 
corner of the spacious church. The shad- 
ow of eternity seemed cast over the 
great congregation. Many were observed 
to be in tears ; and as the inquirers, with 
hurried and trembling step, passed into 
the vestry (though others found a more 
private entrance), the deepest awe and 
sympathy pervaded the meeting. This 
continued for a full hour, and such a 
gathering I hardly ever expect again to see 
in this world." 

While short addresses were being de- 
livered by Mr. Moody and others, an im- 
pulse seemed to fall on individuals, one 
by one, which powerfully drew them into 
the anxious meeting, where ministers and 
laymen were appointed to converse with 
them. 

Altogether, Tuesday was a memorable 
day in Berwick; the like of *it, as Dr. 
Cairns remarked, had never before been 
seen in the memory of its inhabitants. 

Meetings were held on the evenings of 
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. A 
large number of additional inquirers wait- 
ed for conversation. Dr. Cairns expresses 
a hope, in which all must cordially unite, 
when he says, " I feel constrained to add 
my testimony to the profound impression 
which has, by the blessing of God, been 
made on the town. I trust it will be as 
solid and permanent as it is at present 
visible." 

On Sabbath evening the Exchange was 
crowded, when addresses were delivered, 
and a large number of additional inquirers 
waited for conversation. The meetings 



were continued during the week, the min- 
isters of the town being assisted by friends 
from Edinburgh." 



XXI. 

SUMMARY OF THE AWAKENING 
IN EDINBURGH. 

Jan. Zth. — During the last two weeks 
much progress has been made by Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey in reaching the masses 
of the population of Edinburgh with the 
gospel of their salvation. 

Tens of thousands of men, women, and 
children of all classes of the community 
have crowded the halls and churches 
where they have preached and sung of 
Christ and the gospel. 

Multitudes of men assembled in the 
Corn Exchange, and multitudes of women 
in the Assembly Halls and adjoining 
churches on the Lord's day to hear words 
whereby they might be saved ; and on the 
week days the daily prayer-meeting, noon 
and night, was crowded with eager, anxious 
throngs of Christians or anxious ones ; 
while in the Newington U.P. Church and 
the Canongate Parish Church, fully three 
thousand came together nightly to listen 
to the singing and preaching of the glorious 
gospel of Christ. 

Bible lectures have been held in the 
Free Assembly Hall, Viewforth Church, 
West Coates Church, and Free St. Mary's, 
and thereby many have received clearer 
light on the gospel, more stable standing 
on the sure foundation, and blessed freedom 
from bondage. 

Mr. Moody's excellent plan of making 
the Bible speak for itself by quoting text 
after text and commenting on them, and 
enforcing them by striking illustrations, 
has been of eminent use among Christians 
who had life but no liberty. Christ has 
said through him to many a bound and 
groaning one, " Loose him, and let him 

Mr. Moody's clear preaching of grace 
reigning through righteousness and salva- 
tion by grace without the works of the 
law, and the believer's place in Christ 
where there is now no condemnation, and 
sin shall not have dominion over us, be- 
cause we are not under law but under 
grace, is fitted to give immediate relief to 
burdened, unclear, and legal Christians, of 
whom we have crowds. 



EDINBURGH. 



27 



His mind has evidently been in contact 
with clear Scripture teachings, such as one 
seldom meets with in our day : for he has 
learned to draw his words of grace and 
truth from the clear crystal river of divine 
Revelation, and not from the muddy 
streams of human theology ; and if we, 
ministers of Christ, are still to get a hear- 
ing from the people who have hung as if 
spell-bound on the ministry of Mr. Moody, 
we must preach in the same simple, scrip- 
tural, loving, and direct manner. He has 
lifted up a crucified and glorified Christ, 
honored the Holy Ghost by believing in 
His constant presence and grace, and his 
gospel has been made the power of God 
unto salvation to unnumbered souls. We 
calculate that as many as 30,000 have 
listened to his beseeching voice. 

The work of grace is no doubt deep, 
wide-spread, and extraordinary, as com- 
pared with the state of things spiritually 
previous to the coming of those earnest 
men ; but it is only the ordinary and 
normal result of prayer and preaching, 
which the model of the Acts of the Apostles 
warrants us in expecting when all the dis- 
ciples of Christ are continuing with one 
accord in prayer and supplications, and in 
dependence in the Holy Ghost are bend- 
ing all their energies to the one work of 
getting the Christ of God magnified by the 
conversion of perishing souls. When we 
consider that the great bulk of the minis- 
ters and Christian people of Edinburgh 
have been doing almost nothing else for 
nearly two months but giving themselves 
to receive blessing, and to co-operate with 
our excellent friends to make the gospel 
triumphant in the city ; and when we con- 
sider that there has been this concerted, 
continued, and concentrated effort towards 
this one thing, we have hardly seen so 
much fruit as we might reasonably have 
expected ; and we are very sure if there 
had not been much grieving and quench- 
ing of the Holy Spirit of God amongst us 
in connection with this work, both secretly 
and openly, He would have wrought with 
mightier power, and the harvest of souls 
would have been much more abundant. 

There has never been, as in other days, 
thousands pentecostally smitten simultane- 
ously : whole meetings arrested as in the 
years of the right hand of the Most High 
in times past, and made to stand still and 
'see the salvation of God. Might the Lord 
not have given such power as would have 
left hundreds, instead of tens, anxiously in- 



quiring what must we do, if there had been 
an entire exclusion of " the flesh " and a 
total self-surrender on the part of Chris- 
tians, more regard for the glory of Christ, 
less grieving and quenching and more 
honoring of the Holy Ghost ? 

We do not quite sympathize with some 
of the things which have been said about 
Mr. Moody's preaching, and especially 
that he is not eloquent. What, we would 
ask, makes the meetings flat when he is 
absent but the want of a quality he pos- 
sesses ? and what makes them full of life 
and spiritual emotion when he is present, 
but just the superior divine eloquence 
which flows in his burning words, as if an 
electric current were passing through every 
heart ? 

He is the most powerful speaker — the 
most eloquent preacher — who most fully 
carries an audience with him and produces 
the greatest results; and if Mr. Moody 
is judged by such a rule, he is one of the 
most eloquent of living men, for none of 
us here who are ministers feel the least de- 
sire to speak if he is . present, for with all 
our university training we acknowledge 
his superior power as a heaven-commis- 
sioned evangelist. He has the all-powerful 
eloquence of a man full of the Holy Ghost 
and of faith, and fired with indomitable 
zeal for the glory of Christ and the salva- 
tion of souls. He may be devoid of rhet- 
oric (and that, we suppose, is meant), and 
he may use his freedom in extemporizing 
grammar to suit himself, but withal Moody 
is the most eloquent, as he is the most 
successful preacher amongst us. The Lord 
be praised for giving such gifts to men, and 
for the thousands of souls He has convert- 
ed by him in this city, or set into the lib- 
erty of grace by a fuller knowledge of 
Christ and His finished work. 

What masses of young people from the 
schools crowded the meetings during the 
holidays ! And so great has been the at- 
traction of the singing of the one and the 
eloquence of the other, that hundreds of 
young persons, especially of the higher 
classes, who were formerly accustomed to 
go to the theatre, opera, and pantomime, 
gave them up deliberately, and from choice 
and the force of conviction attended the 
gospel and prayer-meetings. Men who 
can draw away our educated children by 
the hundred in this city that boasts of its 
education, from these haunts of pleasure 
and amusement, to hear of Christ in 
preaching and song, and embrace Him as 



28 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



their Saviour, and cling to them as their 
friends, have that spiritual education 
which ennobles the character, implants 
delicate feelings, generous sentiments, ten- 
der emotions, and gracious affections, 
which the young very quickly discover 
and reciprocate. 

But we have no doubt that a very great 
part of Mr. Moody's superiority over most 
ministers as a preacher of the gospel, arises 
from his superior knowledge and grasp of 
the Holy Scriptures. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey's principle 
for gospel work is the recognition of the 
divine unity of the one body of Christ ; 
and accordingly wherever they go they 
say, in effect, A truce to all sectarianism 
that the Lord alone may be exalted : let 
all denominations for the time being be 
obliterated and forgotten, and let us bring 
our united Christian effort to bear upon 
the one great work of saving perishing 
souls. It is a charming sight to look back 
over the past eight weeks and think of men 
who, it appeared, were for all time to come 
in religious antagonism because of their 
controversial differences on the Union 
question, sitting side by side on the same 
platform lovingly co-operating with those 
American brethren and with one another 
for the conversion of souls. All old things 
seemed to have passed away, and all things 
had become new, and all rejoiced together 
in the blessing which has been so richly 
vouchsafed by the God of all grace. 

There has been such a commingling of 
ministers and Christians of all the 
churches — all sectarian thoughts and feel- 
ings being buried — as has never been wit- 
nessed in this city since the first breaking 
up of the Church of Scotland, more than 
140 years ago. What all the ministers and 
people of Scotland were unable to achieve 
— a union of Christians on a doctrinal 
basis — God has effected, as it were, at once 
on the basis of the inner life by the sing- 
ing of a few simple hymns and the simple 
preaching of the gospel : — for as the unity 
of the nation was secured by the one pur- 
pose to make David king over all Israel : 
" All these men of war that could keep 
rank came with a perfect heart to Hebron, 
to make David king over all Israel ; and 
all the rest also of Israel were of one heart 
to make David king, and there was great 
joy in Israel " (1 Chron. xii. 38) ; so the one 
purpose to have the Lord Jesus exalted 
and made supreme, and His glory in the 
triumph of Kis gospel and the salvation of 



sinners made manifest, has united the min- 
isters and Christian people of every name 
in the metropolis of Scotland : " and there 
was great joy in that city " (Acts viii. 8). 
" Be it known unto you all, that by the 
name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom ye cru- 
cified, whom God raised from the dead, 
even by Him " hath been " shed forth this 
which ye now see and hear." "This was 
the stone which was set at nought of you 
builders, which is become the Head of the 
Corner. Neither is there salvation in any 
other, for there is none other name under 
heaven given among men whereby we must 
be saved " (Acts iv. 10-12). " This is the 
Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 
This is the day which the Lord hath 
made. We will be glad and rejoice in it " 
(Ps. viii. 23, 24). 

Mr. Moody is overpoweringly in earnest, 
and he brings in the direct, straightfor- 
ward, decided methods of a thorough-going, 
energetic man of business into his ad- 
dresses, in conducting meetings, and his 
dealing with souls, and, as a preacher gen- 
erally stamps his own image upon his con- 
verts, we may hope to see a brood of de- 
cided Christian witnesses and testifiers 
arising out of this time of awakening, that 
will let it be known that the glory of the 
Lord Jesus is the uppermost purpose in 
their hearts. 

This witness-bearing has already begun in 
colleges and schools, in families and work- 
rooms, in drawing-rooms and kitchens. 
There are discussions going on everywhere 
regarding both the men and the move- 
ment. In ladies' schools there are young 
converts testifying for Jesus, and boldly 
confessing Him as their Saviour ; evening 
parties, through the influence of the young 
believers in the household, are being con- 
verted into Christian assemblies to talk 
over the preaching of Mr. Moody, and to 
sing in concerted worship the hymns and 
solos which have been introduced by the 
inimitable singing of Mr. Sankey. 

These two quiet and humble Americans 
have all but turned society in Edinburgh 
upside down, and, by the grace of God, 
have given its citizens the merriest Christ- 
mas and the happiest New Year that they 
have ever enjoyed, by gathering them 
around the Lord Jesus. It seems as if a 
voice from heaven had been heard saying, 
" O clap your hands, all ye people : shout 
unto God with the voice of triumph. God 
is gone up with a shout, the Lord with 
the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to 



EDINBURGH. 



29 



God, sing praises ; sing praises to our King, 
sing praises ; sing ye praises with under- 
standing " (Ps. xlvii. 5-7). W. R. 



XXII. 

WHAT GOOD HAVE MESSRS. 

MOODY AND SANKEY DONE IN 

EDINBURGH ? 

This is a question which, in its inward 
aspect, can be answered only by Him who 
knows the hearts of men ; but that which 
is visible and apparent can be set down in 
writing. 

For one thing, Mr. Moody has given 
the Bible its due place of prominence, and 
has made it to be looked upon as the 
most interesting book in the world. This 
is honoring the Holy Ghost more than all 
the prayers for His outpouring that have 
been offered; for it is getting into the 
mind of God as the Psalmist got, when he 
said, "Thou hast magnified Thy word 
above all Thy name." His addresses on 
such themes as " How to study the Holy 
Scriptures," and "The Scriptures cannot 
be broken ;" his own Bible lectures, which 
were so full of Scripture, and helpful to 
hundreds of Christians ; his constant ref- 
erence to the Bible, and quotation from 
it in his preaching; his moving about 
amongst the anxious with the open Bible 
in his hands, that he might get them to 
rest their souls on the " true sayings of 
God;" and his earnest exhortations to 
young Christians to read the Word, and 
to older and well-taught Christians to get 
up " Bible readings," and invite young 
Christians to come to them, that they 
might be made acquainted with the mind 
of Christ, all showed how much in earnest 
he is to give due prominence to the Holy 
Scriptures. 

Mr. Moody has also given us a thorough 
specimen of good gospel preaching, both 
as to matter and manner of communica- 
tion. It is not a mixture of law and gos- 
pel : his gospel is " the gospel of the grace 
of God," " without the works of the law," 
" the gospel of God" coming in righteous- 
ly and saving the lost, not by a mere ju- 
dicial manipulation and theoretically, but 
by grace, power, and life coming in when 
men were dead, so that we have not only 
sins blotted out by the blood of Christ, 
but deliverance from sin in the nature by 
death and resurrection, and life beyond 



death, so that a risen Christ is before us, 
and we in Him, when it is said, " There is, 
therefore, now no condemnation to them 
which are in Christ Jesus." There is 
" justification of life " in his preaching, 
immediately that we are " justified by His 
blood." 

He has also distinguished with much 
decision and precision between the Adam- 
nature and the new creation in Christ, and 
made it as clear as noon-day that salvation 
is not the mere setting right of man's 
existing faculties, but the impartation of 
new life in Christ, a new nature, a new 
creation, so that there exists two utterly 
opposed natures in the one responsible 
Christian man, and that " these are con- 
trary the on©- to the other : " arid the 
knowledge of this gives young Christians 
immense relief, and a solid foundation for 
holiness at the very commencement of 
their Christian course. New creation in 
Christ — not the mending of the old crea- 
tion — is Mr. Moody's idea of Christianity : 
and it is the divine reality which many are 
now enjoying. 

This also leads to the Pauline theory of 
holiness, as preached by him. He has 
imbibed very fully the theology^ of the 
Epistle to the Romans on this point, and 
insisted with much earnestness that Scrip- 
ture has it that Christians are not under 
the law in any shape or form, and that 
this is essential to holiness ; — " For sin 
shall not have dominion over you ; for ye 
are not under law, but under grace " 
(Rom. vi. 14) ; " But now we are delivered 
from the law, that we should serve in 
newness of spirit " (Rom. vii.) His doc- 
trine is that the law never made a bad 
man good or a good man better, and that 
we are under grace for sanctification as 
well as for justification ; and yet the right- 
eousness of the law is fulfilled in us who 
walk not after the flesh (that is, under law) 
" but after the Spirit " (Rom. viii. 4.) His 
clearness in distinguishing between law 
and grace has been the lever of life to 
many souls. 

Our American brethren have also been 
of great use in showing us what may be 
accomplished in the conversion of souls, 
if the heart is only fully set upon it, and 
there is a determination to have it. They 
came to us with that distinct aim and ob- 
ject in view ; and the Lord gave them the 
desires of their hearts ; and, as the result 
hundreds of souls have professed salva- 
tion. They gave themselves to " this one 



3o 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



thing," and they stuck to it, brushing 
aside all other things : even the conven- 
tional courtesies of life were made short 
work of by Mr. Moody if he spied an 
anxious soul likely to escape. His friends 
might introduce some notable stranger at 
the close of a meeting, and feel rather an- 
noyed that, instead of conversing with 
him or her, he darted off in a moment to 
awakened souls ; but he made that his 
work, and everything else had to be sub- 
ordinate to it. " This one thing I do," 
seems to be his life -motto ; and in stick- 
ing to this all-absorbing object, he has 
read us a noble lesson of holy resoluteness 
and decision. If we who are ministers 
have similar faith and expectancy, and 
work like our American friends for the 
conversion of souls, the conversion of 
souls we shall have. Our Lord said to 
those who were to be the first preachers 
of His gospel, " I have chosen you, and 
ordained you, that ye should go and bring 
forth fruit, and that your fruit should re- 
main " (John xv. 16) ; and when they 
were endued with the Holy Ghost and 
with power, they did " bring forth fruit " 
in the conversion of souls (Acts ii. 41 ; iv. 
4) ; and their fruit remained (Acts ii. 42), 
and has done so, in the millions of souls 
saved in all ages down to the present day. 

Our friends have been the means of 
rescuing hundreds of souls in this city 
from impending and everlasting damna- 
tion. Their labors have been especially 
fruitful in the conversion of young women 
and girls, who in course of time will be in 
the important position of wives and mo- 
thers ; and if the thousand of them that 
appeared at the young converts' meeting, 
to receive Mr. Moody's farewell address, 
should all hold out, it will be an unspeak- 
able blessing that has been conferred by 
God on this community through their in- 
strumentality. 

Persons at a distance have wondered at 
us having so many ladies among the anx- 
ious, and the question has repeatedly 
come to us, " Where are the men ? Your 
anxious inquirers are nearly all women, 
as we read of them in your reports." 
If such persons had been present on Fri- 
day, Jan. 16, and run their eyes over the 
young converts in the Free Assembly 
Hall, between eight and nine o'clock, and 
counted, as was done, the 1,150 that were 
present, and failed to find 150 of them 
men, they would no longer have been at 
a loss to see why the greater proportion 



of the cases of awakening mentioned 
are women. 

But we believe also that any one who 
would affirm, from the excessive prepon- 
derance of women over men on Friday at 
the young converts' meeting, that the move- 
ment had only laid hold of women, would 
be very wide of the truth ; for although 
the meetings went on for three weeks al- 
most without men, towards the close there 
were many young men who were brought 
under the power of the truth. It is, how- 
ever, well known that most young Scots- 
men, from a variety of influences and mo- 
tives, even though converted, would rather 
be excluded from the meeting than face 
the ordeal through which those had to 
pass who received tickets ; and had there 
been a converts' meeting for men to come 
to without any examination or receiving of 
tickets, hundreds would have attended it. 

In a time of awakening it is also well 
known that women who are religiously 
impressed will go through fire and water 
to comply with the wishes of those who 
have been made useful to their souls. 
They will do anything they are asked to 
do ; hence the mass-meeting of women on 
Friday, the 16th. But not so with men — 
especially Scotsmen — hence their absence, 
notwithstanding that many are known to 
have been converted. 

Before that meeting was held, we had 
given it as our calculation, based on the 
facts that had come under our own observa- 
tion daily in the inquiry-meeting, that 
there might be 1,500 souls converted, or 
who had professed to be converted, be- 
lieving themselves to be so. We are still 
of the same judgment, and that very many 
more of them are men than that converts' 
farewell meeting revealed. Twelve hun- 
dred women and three hundred men and 
boys seem to be the proportion and sum 
total who have professed conversion. 
Hundreds of them may go on flourish- 
ingly, and bring forth thirty, sixty, and a 
hundred fold. Hundreds may go back, 
die out, or be choked with the world, and 
many who have divine life in their souls 
may collapse, and the work may have to 
be done over again, and they revived and 
set at liberty, because of the lack of 
teaching. This has been our observation 
of the results of past revivals, having been 
in nearly all that have taken place in this 
country for the last six-and-twenty years. 
But we see no necessity for this sad out- 
come of a blessed work of grace, if the 



EDINBURGH. 



3i 



professed converts were fully taught in all 
the precious truth of God with regard to 
their place in a risen and glorified Christ, 
as Romans, Ephesians, and Colossians, 
spiritually and competently expounded, 
would teach them. Good milk, and 
plenty of it, makes an infant thrive and 
grow. " As new-born babes, desire the 
sincere milk of the word, that ye may 
grow thereby. Grow in grace and in the 
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ." The only way not to fall is to 
grow, and growth and strength are by the 
truth. 

One night it was publicly reported (and 
we were confined to the house at that time 
with a heavy cold, and could not be out 
to verify it for ourselves) that 600 men 
had come up from the Corn Exchange, 
and fallen on their knees on the floor of 
the Assembly Hall, professing themselves 
willing to give themselves to Christ. What 
a pity that Christians should exaggerate 
like that, and give the enemy cause to ask 
incredulously, Where were your 600 Corn 
Exchange converts when the converts' 
farewell meeting was held ? Have they 
gone back from Christ already ? 

A similar band of men, 400 strong, came 
up from the Corn Exchange on the subse- 
quent Sunday evening, and filled the body 
of the Assembly Hall ; and to an outsider 
and onlooker they would have appeared 



to be 400 anxious inquirers ; but on being 
tested at the close (as was done), they 
were found to be mostly Christian men — 
many of them helpers in the work ; and it 
turned out that there was not a score of 
anxious souls amongst them. There had 
been hundreds of men more or less im- 
pressed that night in the Corn Exchange ; 
but it was preposterous to suppose that 
West Port, Grassmarket, and Cowgate men 
could be got to any extent, to make a long 
and difficult pilgrimage, up infinite steps 
of stairs, to some terra incognita in the 
regions beyond, in order to be conversed 
with about their souls ! 

There is nothing more disliked by Mr. 
Moody than exaggerated representations 
as to the numbers at his meetings, and as 
nothing is more hurtful to the solid pro- 
gress of the work than romancing about 
numbers, it should be carefully avoided. 
There is nothing we have paid more at- 
tention to than strict and sober accuracy 
in all our reports, and we have thereby 
sought to secure and retain the confidence 
of our readers. 

How we should praise God that there 
are hundreds who have been made Chris- 
tians in our city, and that thousands of 
lips are filled with the melody of joy and 
praise, as the result of the visit of our 
beloved brethren, Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey ! 



THE WORK IN DUNDEE. 



I. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey began their 
work at Dundee on Wednesday, the 21st 
of January, 1874. A united prayer-meet- 
ing was held in the Steeple Church. Over 
2,000 tickets were issued for the meeting, 
and long before the hour announced for 
the commencement of the proceedings the 
church was crowded. 

On the following day a united prayer- 
meeting was held at noon in Free St. An- 
drew's Church, Mr. Moody presiding. 
This was continued from day to day. 
Children's meetings were also held on Sat- 
urday, and Sunday meetings followed in 
various parts of the town. The work was 
terminated with an " All-day meeting " on 



the 6th of February. At the close Mr. 
Moody addressed a young converts' meet- 
ing in the evening, when about four hun- 
dred were present, professing to have been 
saved through the labors of Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey during their visit at Dundee. 

The Rev. Mr. Sharp writes as follows of 
the movement: 

II. 

MESSRS. MOODY AND SANKEY IN 
DUNDEE. 

I am glad to say the amount of blessing 
that has fallen upon Edinburgh seems to 
be imported to Dundee. From the very 
first all the meetings have been very largely 



32 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



attended, and the whole town seems to be 
moved. It would take up too much of 
your space to give even an outline of the 
glorious results arising out of the visit to 
this town of these two honored servants of 
'God. Hundreds of anxious souls wait 
every night to be spoken with, as well as 
many at the close of the mid-day meetings. 
Day after day the interest has been increas- 
ing. He would be a bold man, or even 
minister, who would dare to dispute the 
good that many have received to their own 
souls. We have had personal experience, 
day after day and night after night, of hear- 
ing from the lips of persons themselves 
who have professed to have found peace to 
their own souls in believing in Jesus as 
their Saviour since these meetings began. 
I do not believe the people of Dundee ever 
witnessed such a sight as was seen here 
last Sunday. 

Mr. Moody gave an address to workers 
in the Kinnaird Hall in the morning. The 
admission was by ticket ; the place was 
filled. He also preached in other places 
through the day. But what I refer to 
principally is the evening services — a meet- 
ing at half-past five, and again at half-past 
seven,were held in the Kinnaird Hall,which 
holds about 2,000. No one can form the 
least idea of the scene in Bank street, 
where the hall is situated, even after the 
hall was filled; the street seemed filled 
from end to end with the crowd, eager to 
gain access, but could not for want of room. 
Many were awakened by the impressive 
addresses of Mr. Moody, as well as the 
beautiful hymns sung by Mr. Sankey. His 
melodious voice, giving such charm to the 
soul-stirring words, seemed to produce a 
most powerful effect upon the large audi- 
ence, and hundreds remained at the close 
to be spoken with, and many gave evidence 
of having received much blessing. 

I have no time to enter into the full par- 
ticulars, but allow me first to say, the 
whole of the meetings are largely attended 
both by males and females, both by young 
and old, and what seems to be so pleasing, 
a most harmonious feeling appearing to 
pervade the whole town amongst all classes 
and all denominations — ministers and peo- 
ple all seem to rejoice together. I am glad 
to say, many who have hitherto been living 
without God have been brought to peace 
in believing in Jesus. 

Mr. Moody's address at the Bible meet- 
ing yesterday seemed to make a deep im- 
pression on all present. His subject had 



reference principally to searching and 
studying the Word of God, and the good 
to be derived to our own souls by so doing. 
The large audience that had assembled in 
Dr. Wilson's church, — which was crammed, 
and many could not get in at three in the 
afternoon, — appeared to be loath to leave, 
and looked as if they "Could have listened 
another hour to such profitable instruction, 
and such glorious truths that fell from the 
lips of the speaker. Even the very young- 
est in the meeting seemed to listen with 
most intense interest. 

God seems to be working powerfully in 
Dundee through the instrumentality of 
these two God-honored servants of His. 
What to myself is very encouraging is the 
want of that opposition which is so com- 
mon, and which is so often raised by the 
wicked one. 

No one can fail to see the happy and 
cordial feeling all over the town; every- 
body seems to be pleased with one another, 
and however much some people may object 
to such gatherings, no one who has the 
least spark of the milk of human kindness 
flowing in his veins could fail to be pleased 
as well as delighted to see the happy, 
cheerful, and friendly smile to be seen in 
the faces of each and all as they greet one 
another in the street ; and to myself, it 
seems a little heaven below to see how 
happy every one looks as they leave the 
meetings, and more especially is it to be 
admired and soul-cheering to see how the 
young children, along with their parents, 
seem to enjoy the meetings ; and, glory be 
to God, many a parent's heart has been 
made to sing for joy to see so many of their 
children giving their young hearts to Jesus. 
And oh, what a glorious sight to see and 
to hear parents and children now singing 
together with one heart and one voice, " I 
am so glad Jesus loves me," and I pray 
God they may be enabled to hold on and 
hold out to the end. Yes, to hold the fort 
and wave the answer back to heaven, " By 
Thy grace we will." 

Having attended many of these meetings 
in Edinburgh for weeks together, as well 
as many of the meetings here in Dundee, 
and from all I have seen and got to know 
from personal experience, I am satisfied 
God has been working mightily with them 
here, and the power of the Spirit of God 
has been felt in the conversion of many 
souls. I am, sir, yours, etc., 

Alex. Sharp. 

Dundee, Feb. 4, 1874. 



THE WORK IN GLASGOW. 



I. 

On Sunday, Feb. 8, 1874, the Evangel- 
ists began their work at Glasgow. The 
following letters from the Rev. Dr. An- 
drew A. Bonar, slightly abridged, vividly 
present the development and progress of 
the work there. 



MESSRS. MOODY AND SANKEY'S 
MEETINGS IN GLASGOW. 

FIRST LETTER. 

Dear Brethren, — You wish to know 
something of the work of God in this city. 
The rumor of what God was working else- 
where, especially as the cloud of blessing 
seemed to come nearer us, had prepared 
the way for our American brethren's visit ; 
indeed, there were cases here and there 
where persons were awakened to conver- 
sion by the single rumor of others being 
so blessed. Let me give you notes of what 
has been passing here during these few 
days, with all the freedom of one writing 
a letter to a friend. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey began their 
labors in Glasgow on Sabbath morning, 
the 8th. At nine o'clock in the City Hall, 
a delightful and most stirring meeting of 
Sabbath-school teachers, numbering about 
three thousand, was held. Mr. Moody 
took this way of engaging the prayer and 
sympathy of 3,000 workers for Christ in 
the beginning of his labors. Some of the 
ministers in this city were in a certain way 
witnesses of the effect produced, teacher 
after teacher coming into church just 
as the bells ceased, with hap^py, thought- 
ful, solemn faces. The evening's teach- 
ing could not fail to feel the influence of 
that morning. Half-past six was the hour 
for the evening evangelistic services, but 
more than an hour before the time the 
City Hall was crowded in every corner, 
and the immense multitude outside were 
drafted off to the three nearest churches, 
which were soon filled. Mr. Moody's 
subject was " The Gospel " (referring to 1 
Cor. xv. 1-4), illustrated and enforced in 
his usual style, downright, earnest, and 
powerful. Mr. Sankey's singing at both 



meetings began at once to be felt as in- 
deed " the gospel " preached by singing, 
impressive and melting, as well as most 
attractive. Is it another of the Lord's 
many new ways, in these last days, of 
graciously compelling men to come in, 
like the Grecian mother's intense agony 
of desire expressing itself in the song that 
lured her wayward child back from the 
precipice to safety ? 

The daily prayer-meeting at twelve 
o'clock was begun on the Monday follow- 
ing — held in the United Presbyterian 
Church, Wellington Street, which accom- 
modates 1,500 persons. Mr. Moody, after 
the many requests for prayer had been 
taken up, started with the passage in 2 
Chron. xx., which records Jehoshaphat's 
prayer, especially dwelling on verse 12 : 
" Our eyes are upon Thee, for we know 
not what to do." The church was full. 
Mr. Sankey's singing is aided by a volun- 
tary choir of male and female voices, 
every one of the number throwing their 
heart into this work as a means of winning 
souls; and altogether there is a liveliness 
and interest, as well as a solemnity, in the 
crowded meeting such as has seldom been 
witnessed. Christians and Christian min- 
isters of all denominations, from the coun- 
try as well as town, come to this meeting ; 
it is a meeting that sends us back to Apos- 
tolic days, when the multitude were of one 
heart and of one soul " (Acts iv. 32), pray- 
ing " with one accord " for the setting 
forth of the power of the Holy Ghost in. the 
city. " It is not preaching that Scotland 
needs," said one brother, " it is prayer 
and power." Our brethren reckon this 
hour of prayer to be the most important 
of all the meetings, since it is here that 
believers are to be filled with the Spirit to 
overflowing, and then go forth to the un- 
saved. 

As I do not promise to> write to you 
chronologically, let me give one sample of 
our meetings. On Wednesday the chair- 
man read Luke v. 17-31, with many racy 
remarks and pointed appeals; and when 
the meeting was thrown open, five or six 
persons in turn spoke briefly. A minister 
told the anecdote of a Highland chieftain, 



34 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



who used to say that it was not right to 
ask " blessing " merely ; God wished us to 
ask " showers of blessing " (Ezek. xxxiv. 
26). A friend from Edinburgh stated 
that there was no symptom of decline — 
every day the pfrayer-meeting in the As- 
sembly Hall thronged, and every evening 
some cases of blessing at the evangelistic 
meetings. He told also of drops falling 
in a district in Dumfriesshire. One of the 
ministers of the city drew attention to our 
Lord's conversations with souls, urging on 
all this means of laboring for the Lord, 
and stating his conviction, from what he 
had come in contact with, that hundreds 
of souls were ready to speak their mind to 
any who would approach them. Prayer 
was offered, and part of the hymn, " Jesus 
the water of life will give freely, freely, 
freely," was sung. A minister from Edin- 
burgh confirmed by some further facts 
what had been stated in regard to the 
blessing there. 

An elder pressed the privilege of taking 
part in the making known salvation to 
those around us. A minister from the 
country gave interesting details of awak- 
ening begun in his congregation and 
neighborhood since the Week of Prayer, 
and spoke of the holy solemnity resting on 
all who came together, night after night, 
for prayer, so that the very walls of the 
place seemed consecrated. But let me 
tell of the Evening Meetings this week. 
The three first evenings Mr. Moody and 
Mr. Sankey were in the north-east part of 
the city, in the Barony (Established) 
Church for an hour and a half, and then 
in the Free Barony Church. Both places 
have been filled to the door, night after 
night, and many inquirers have remained 
at the close. Mr. Moody's address on 
" There is no difference," and on " The 
Son of Man is come to seek and save that 
which was lost," were both awful and 
most melting, and full of saving truth. 
The singing of " There is life for a look at 
the Crucified One," evidently moved many. 
In all the meetings it is quite common to 
see tears trickling down the faces of men 
when " Jesus of Nazareth passeth by " is 
sung. A young woman was awakened on 
Sabbath morning by the hymn sung by 
Mr. Sankey, " I am so glad that Jesus 
loves me." 

Perhaps I should mention here that one 
of your London ministers was present on 
Thursday, and candidly said to the meet- 
ing that he had come the day before full 



of prejudice against these gatherings ; but 
that all his prejudice was gone. He urged 
upon all present (referring to Mr. Moody's 
subject that morning, 2 Kings, iv. 1-6) to 
come, bringing not only empty vessels, but 
vessels large and deep. 

Thursday evening's meeting was in the 
City Hall, and consisted wholly of men, 
invited by ticket. The very look of the 
meeting was solemnizing, such a sea of 
faces, every face looking at the speaker 
with fixed and intense earnestness. " Ex- 
cept a man be born again " was the sub- 
ject ; there had been much prayer offered 
in prospect of this gathering of men, and 
it was answered. Mr. Moody was enabled 
to speak in marvelous power, and the 
Spirit assuredly was working, so that from 
time to time the whole mass of souls 
seemed moved, and bent down under the 
truth. The hymns sung, too, appeared to 
have a wonderful power on that audience 
of men. When at the close those were 
invited to remain longer who were on the 
Lord's side or wished to be, above a 
thousand kept their places; and when, 
after four brief prayers had been offered 
in succession, they were let go, a large 
number of anxious souls remained. Many 
of these last were very deeply concerned. 
In short, it was one of those meetings that 
can never be forgotten. " The power of 
the Lord was present to heal." 

Surely the Lord is gathering in His 
elect in haste before the great and notable 
day of the Lord. And as in the days of 
the Forerunner, He made men willing to 
go out in thronging multitudes to the des- 
ert, seeking out the preacher, the preach- 
er not needing to seek out them ; so it is 
now. " The kingdom of God is preached, 
and every man presseth into it." Appli- 
cations for visits of our two brethren come 
in from all the region round : Greenock, 
Dumbarton, Paisley, Rothesay, Hamilton, 
Millport, Saltcoats, Bothwell, Barrhead, 
Rutherglen, and other localities. 



SECOND LETTER. 



Perhaps we in Glasgow are at that 
stage of the movement described in Acts 
ii. 42, " Having power with all the people ; 
and the Lord added to the Church daily 
such as should be saved." 

At the daily prayer-meeting on Friday, 
13th, thanks were given for the most in- 
teresting meeting of 4,000 men in the City 



GLASGOW. 



35 



Hall on the preceding evening. Mr. 
Moody's helpful word that day was in re- 
gard to the three classes of believers we 
meet with everywhere — those who have got 
to the length of John iii. 15 ; another class, 
who know by experience John iv. 14 — 
th ey have the living water springing up in 
them ; and a third, and best, who answer 
to the description in John vii. 38, 39 — 
true believers, and pouring out on others 
"rivers of living water." 

The evening meetings were held again 
in the two Barony Churches, Established 
and Free, and many anxious remained be- 
hind to converse. 

On Saturday the meeting (as usual on 
that day) was specially for children — a 
lively and impressive meeting. The church 
was filled with young people, and there 
have been decided conversions in connec- 
tion with these gatherings for the young. 
At the same hour the usual prayer-meet- 
ing was carried on in Ewing Place Chapel, 
close by, and the place was filled. 

On Sabbath morning there was another 
gathering of Sabbath-school teachers, at 
nine o'clock. These were not the same 
company as last week, but from another 
part of the city. The City Hall was the 
place, but it could not contain all who 
sought admission. The address by Mr. 
Moody, on Matt. xx. 1-15, made the 
privilege of working for the Lord appear 
so honorable and so pleasant — especially 
when he called on the laborers among us 
to leave the Householder to give what- 
soever He might think right, and not 
" bargain for a penny a day " — that many 
felt truly humbled, and all were fired with 
new desire to win souls, a work and priv- 
ilege which angels almost envy us. On 
coming out, it was interesting to notice 
that a row of outside listeners had sta- 
tioned themselves close to the building, 
eager to catch at least the songs of praise. 

None of the evangelistic services are 
held at the usual hours of church service, 
but much prayer went up for these meet- 
ings from many congregations throughout 
the day. 

At five o'clock the City Hall was filled 
with females only ; and so deep was the 
impression, that about a hundred. inquirers 
remained to be conversed with, some of 
whom were led into light and liberty. 

At eight o'clock there was a vast assem- 
bly, of men only, in the City Hall. They 
were packed into every corner; and out- 
side were nearly as many in vain seeking 



entrance. It was, like Thursday even- 
ing, a memorable time. Mr. Moody's sub- 
ject was "Whosoever," — salvation abso- 
lutely free, all gift ; nothing between a sin- 
ner and eternal life but his unbroken will. 
The mass of men listened with intense in- 
terest ; now and then, you could see a tear, 
or the head bent in deep emotion. When 
Mr. Sankey sang the hymn, " I am Coming 
to the Cross," nothing could exceed the 
rapt, silent attention. When he came to 
the verse — 

" In the promises I trust, 

Now I feel the blood applied : 
I am prostrate in the dust ; 
I with Christ am crucified," — 

not a head in the vast multitude moved, 
every face expressed deep feeling. This 
verse was repeated amid still deeper silence 
and emotion. At the close, when an 
invitation was given to those who minded 
to remain for twenty minutes simply for 
prayer, above a thousand remained, and 
thereafter a large number waited for con- 
versation, though the hour was late. 

In the daily prayer-meeting, one of our 
brethren undertakes to arrange beforehand 
the requests for prayer — a most important 
service, for they mount up from 150 to 200 
every day. On Monday, the 16th, several 
brethren stated what they knew or had 
heard of the progress of the work in our 
city and elsewhere. From Dundee it was 
reported that real Sabbath-school work 
had got an impulse ; and one school was 
mentioned where a great awakening seem- 
ed begun. The evening of this day had 
been appointed as a time when all inqui- 
rers awakened during last week should 
meet for counsel and conversation with 
Mr. Moody and Mr. Sankey, assisted by 
Christian workers, in the hall of the Free 
Barony Church. Above two hundred 
came, and of these a hundred were men, 
all willing, as far as they could, to tell 
"what's the trouble?" It was felt by all 
who took part to be a time of singular 
solemnity — reapers gathering up sheaves 
for the Lord's garner. This was, indeed, 
an encouraging result of one week's prayer, 
preaching, and singing. 

I do not attempt to give an account of 
every meeting from day to day, though 
there has been no day without its incidents 
worth preserving. There is over the city 
a breathing of the quickening Spirit. 
Christian workers find it easy to approach 
men on the matter of salvation. 



3* 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



Mr. Moody began his Bible-readings in 
the afternoon. They are held for the pres- 
ent in the Free College Church (Dr. 
Buchanan's). That day Dr. Fairbairn, 
Principal of the Free College, presided. 
Many ministers of all denominations were 
present. Mr. Moody's subject was, " The 
Blood of Atonement," " the scarlet line 
that binds together every leaf of the Bible." 
The audience that crowded the church 
was of a more educated and fashionable 
kind than some in the evenings, and they 
heard a most clear, powerful, decided 
statement of saving truth, illustrated by 
many touching incidents ; and well worth 
remembering was the preacher's testimony 
that, wherever he had been, in any part of 
the world, he had found that those minis- 
ters who preached the blood were the men 
who were winners of souls. We called to 
mind, as he said this, the counsel of a 
much-blessed Methodist to those around 
him, u Live in the Sacrifice ! Live in the 
Sacrifice /" These afternoon Bible-read- 
ings are thronged, and this is itself an im- 
portant fact ; for attention to the Word of 
God, and the true sense of it (Mr. Moody 
remarked the other day at a prayer-meet- 
ing), was the prominent characteristic of 
revival in the days of Nehemiah (see chap, 
viii. 1-8, and ix. 3). Indeed, it is a ques- 
tion how far any revival is likely to yield 
much permanent fruit where a real hunger 
for the Word does not characterize it. In 
Josh. i. 8 and Psa. i. 2, 3, constant medita- 
tion on the Lord's law is enjoined as the 
grand secret of spiritual freshness and 
growth. 

That same evening the evangelistic 
meeting was held (as it has been all this 
week) in John Street United Presbyterian 
Church. The crowds increase instead of 
diminishing. The Wesleyan Chapel, on 
the opposite side of the street, opened to 
receive the overflow, has been filled, and 
no night passes without fresh cases of 
anxiety. 

At nine o'clock the Christian young 
men of the city met in Ewing Place Chapel, 
to consult with Mr. Moody as to what 
they might do to forward the Lord's work. 
Mr. Sankey gave tone to the meeting, 
singing— 

" Oh, what are you going to do, brother ? 
Say, what are you going to do ? 
You have thought of some useful labor," etc. 

When Mr. Moody had made some sugges- 
tions and got many of those present to 



tell their own views, he asked if as many 
as agreed to enter on such a plan as was 
suggested would rise to their feet. The 
whole number (there must have been 700 
present) at once rose ; and already these 
young men have begun to meet every 
night, between nine and ten, to stimulate 
each other to watch for souls, and to lay 
hold on other young men. The hour is 
fixed thus late in order that there may be 
no interference with other meetings, and 
in order to give opportunity to those who 
are kept late by business. What a field 
Glasgow presents, may be inferred from 
the fact that the young men of the city 
between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five 
number 70,000. 

At Wednesday's prayer-meeting, Neh. 
viii. 1-12 was the passage read. The 
passage led to the subject of " joy," which 
not only the president but the successive 
speakers took up. Then was read a let- 
ter containing brotherly salutations from 
the Edinburgh Daily Prayer-meeting ; and 
when it was mentioned that at that very 
hour they would be praying for us, the 
meeting engaged in silent prayer for their 
brethren there. 

I think it was on Thursday that thanks- 
giving was requested by two students 
brought to Christ in the meeting of the 
preceding evening. Another thanksgiving 
came from a Sabbath-school teacher, for 
an awakening begun in her class in answer 
to prayer offered for it a week ago. We 
heard in private many interesting cases 
that cannot be published, but which will 
soon be felt. One, however, I may men- 
tion. A man went to pay a debt long due ; 
surprise was expressed at his coming on 
that errand, but he explained all by saying, 
"/ was brought to Christ last week." Is 
not this a brother of Zaccheus ? (Luke 
xix. 8.) We shall see speedily much more 
of such fruits in all classes of society, to 
the glory of Him who gave Himself for us 
" that He might redeem us from all iniquity, 
and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, 
zealous of good works." 

There is blessed work going on in other 
parts of Glasgow and in the neighborhood. 
Our beloved brethren were sent by the 
Master to fire the train laid in many places 
before they came. Laborers, who only 
sowed before, are now reaping. But be- 
yond all this, in connection with their 
preaching and singing, the Holy Spirit is 
quickening souls that were never touched 
before. It is a day of the Lord's power. 



GLASGOW. 



37 



Worldly men are " doubting whereunto this 
will grow " (Acts v. 24), and God's people 
are rejoicing that He is " making ready a 
people prepared for the Lord." 



THIRD LETTER. 



The work goes on. The Lord Jesus, 
sitting at the right hand of God, is " con- 
firming the word by signs following." We 
hear of conversions coming under the 
notice of workers for the Lord in all parts 
of the town. Last Friday the subject of 
the noon prayer-meeting was Jas. i. 8, and 
in the Bible-reading in the Free College 
Church (Dr. Robert Buchanan presiding), 
the topic was " Heaven." It had been 
" Grace " the day preceding. At the close 
of the evening meetings in John Street 
United Presbyterian Church and the 
Wesleyan Methodist Church, the number 
of inquirers was large ; but so well was all 
arranged for conversing with them, that 
though there must have been above a 
hundred at one time, yet all was order and 
stillness, the different workers in separate 
seats, and some in separate rooms, dealing 
with the anxious. No idlers were permit- 
ted to look on, and there was time for 
helping individuals to get at a clear under- 
standing of their own difficulties and 
hindrances, which in many cases is the 
main thing needed, in order to their right 
apprehension of the gospel. 

We pass on to the Sabbath morning 
meeting in the City Hall. It was one of 
Christian workers, 3,000 of whom filled the 
place. Mr. Moody spoke on Isaiah vi. 8, 
" Send me." At five o'clock the hall was 
filled with females only, and at eight with 
men only. As other neighboring churches 
were open at the same time for the over- 
flow, at least 10,000 persons that night 
heard the gospel in a special manner. 
From half-past six onward there was an 
important gathering from all the meetings 
in the old College Church, of all who were 
anxious, and above 200 souls were there in 
the course of the evening. It was a busy 
scene, the workers dealing with individuals, 
or occasionally in little groups. It was the 
business of heaven that was carried on. 
The wares of God's market were exhibited 
and pressed on the acceptance of sinners, 
without money and without price. I could 
not help going back to the memories of 
other days, for in this old College Church, 
in Whitefield's time, there ministered one 
whose whole heart was in revival work. 



This was Dr. John Gillies, who not only 
laboriously compiled the " Historical Col- 
lections," one relating to remarkable peri- 
ods of the success of the gospel (a book of 
deep interest to all who care for the win- 
ning of souls), but used also to send fcrth 
to his parishioners a short weekly paper — 
a rare thing in these days — giving them 
information about the work of God in 
America, Holland, Germany, as well as at 
home. What a joyful sight would Sabbath 
night's meeting of inquirers have been to 
him, gathered on the spot where he so 
often and so pathetically called on his 
people to cry for the outpouring of the 
Holy Spirit on Glasgow and Scotland ! 
He prefaced his first " Exhortation to the 
hearers in the College Kirk " by such 
burning words as these — " Such multitudes 
of my own kin, my brothers and my sisters, 
going to hell, never to get out again ? 
Break, break, hard heart ! You who read 
these lines, think not my words strange, 
but weep with me, if you are men, and not 
stones. O Thou who didst weep over 
Jerusalem, Thou alone canst give us com- 
fort in this overwhelming calamity ! 
Heavenly Father, for Thy Son's sake, be 
pleased to stir up many diligently to preach 
the Kingdom, when such multitudes of 
souls are in danger of perishing!" This 
was in 1751. Who can tell but that that 
man of God may, even at this hour, have 
been made glad by hearing the tidings told 
" in the presence of the angels of God," 
that many sinners are repenting in Glasgow, 
and that there have been many who looked 
to Calvary from the spot where he used so 
to yearn over souls. 

The Monday prayer-meeting is a time 
for reports of the work, and not less for 
thanksgiving. Luke xvii. 12-19 was the 
Scripture read. The inquiry-meeting in 
the evening in John Street Church was 
very large, and full of interest. While it 
was going on, there was held in the City 
Hall, at seven o'clock, an evangelistic 
meeting, which had some peculiar features. 
The place was full. Mr. Moody merely 
opened with a few remarks on the object 
of the meeting after prayer and praise, and 
then addresses were given, brief and point- 
ed, by a great variety of speakers. The 
attention of the large assembly throughout 
did not flag, and some were deeply im- 
pressed. Mr. Sankey began by singing — 



" Not ajar the gates of glory — 

They are open day and night." 



3« 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



Prayer was offered, and then Di. Marshall 
Lang, of the Barony Church, spoke earnest- 
ly on the ark, showing its door open for 
invitation to men, as is Christ's pierced 
side, and showing the ruin of all outside 
the ark. Mr. Moody related the first in- 
cident that impressed him, and awakened 
in him concern, viz., the deep feeling 
manifested for him by his Sabbath-school 
teacher. The hymn was then sung by Mr. 
Sankey and the choir, " Light in the 
valley." Dr. David M'Ewan, of John 
Street United Presbyterian Church, then 
for some minutes proclaimed the way of 
life through the Lord Jesus, illustrating his 
statements by the experience of John 
Wesley, and another hymn was sung, " The 
Lifeboat." Mr. Bonar, Finnieston Free 
Church, gave an incident that recently 
occurred near Dundee, in connection with 
these lines of that hymn — 

" Safe in the Lifeboat, sailor, cling to self no 
more, 
Leave the poor old stranded wreck, and pull 
for the shore," 

and then proclaimed the way of salvation 
from John vi. 40. He was followed by 
Dr. Wallace, of Campbell Street United 
Presbyterian Church, who set forth the 
sinner's Saviour by an illustration taken 
from what he had witnessed a few days 
ago in the Highlands, the rescue of a 
perishing sheep. Ps. xxiii. was sung, and 
Mr. Pirrett, Burnbank United Presbyterian 
Church, gave a warning word from the case 
of one he had known who wrested to his 
undoing the truth, " Once in Christ, always 
in Christ." Mr. Sankey and the choir 
sang " Depth of Mercy," and as they came 
to the chorus from time to time, " God is 
love, I know, I feel ; Jesus lives," etc., the 
deepest stillness pervaded the meeting. 
Mr. Campbell, of the Wynd Free Church, 
spoke to those present who might be 
anxious, and Mr. Howie dropped a closing 
word, urging to immediate application. 
The meeting lasted an hour and forty 
minutes. Inquirers were invited on leaving 
the hall to join those met in John Street 
Church. 

Wednesday, Feb. 2$th. — Yesterday's noon 
meeting was full of interest. Dr. Cairns, 
from Berwick, presided. He read Isa. xii. 
previous to telling us some of the " excel- 
lent things " which the Lord has been do- 
ing in Berwick. After "declaring His 
doings," he earnestly and lovingly urged 
all ministers and believers to use this pres- 



ent tide-time, by going to individuals and 
bringing before them the matters of salva- 
tion, not waiting till they came to ask. 
Mr. Moody afterwards took up this re- 
mark, enforcing it, and pressing it on all 
who would win souls ; for when the Son of 
Man came to " save," He first of all went 
to " seek " the lost. Mr. Goldie, from Stir- 
ling, Mr. Bogue, from Stockton-on-Tees, 
and Mr. M'Nab, from Ardrossan (the last 
of whom had been taking part in the Lon- 
don work), each gave details of what the 
Lord was doing. The City Hall evening 
meeting had been specially kept for friends 
from Greenock, Port-Glasgow, Johnstone, 
and other places on the same line of rail- 
way, who had intimated their desire to 
come, but there were fully as many present 
from the city. The most memorable meet- 
ing that evening was that of the young 
men in Ewing Place Chapel at nine o'clock. 
A deputation of four young men from 
Edinburgh began the evening's work, each 
in turn speaking with persuasive earnest- 
ness and affection. Then Dr. Cairns, with 
freshness and fervor, as if he had returned 
to the days of his youth, addressed them, 
and was followed by Rev. J. H. Wilson, 
from Edinburgh, who brought them to the 
point, "Why not to-night?" When Mr.. 
Moody came in, he saw the impression 
resting on the meeting, and proposed that 
at once, on the spot, opportunity should be 
given of dealing with all who desired to 
take Christ as theirs. The three front 
seats of the church were cleared, and an 
invitation given to those young men pres- 
ent who professed to have this desire to 
come forward. The seats were imme- 
diately filled, and when three other seats 
had been cleared as before, another stream 
of young men poured in. Some one pres- 
ent counted in all 101, and there were 
others who felt as those who came forward, 
though they kept their seats. During 
prayer intense emotion was manifested by 
many and an awful solemnity was felt to 
pervade the place. It was a night not to 
be forgotten. Christian friends remained 
conversing with the anxious till about 
twelve o'clock. And I may add that next 
night the chapel was filled with 900 or 
1,000 young men, who were again address- 
ed by the deputation from Edinburgh and 
others. When Mr. Sankey had sung 
"Almost Persuaded," Mr. Moody asked 
all to retire except those who wished to 
converse about their souls' salvation. 
There must have been not fewer than 140 



GLASGOW. 



39 



who remained, and Christian workers were 
occupied with them till near twelve o'clock. 
It was a glorious harvest field. 

The Wednesday noon meeting, I must 
not forget to say, was as crowded as ever. 
The Rev. J. H. Wilson read Acts ii. 42- 
47, as descriptive, in its main features, of 
the work of God in Edinburgh, and most 
urgently did he press all Christians to say, 
every man to his neighbor, and every 
man to his brother, " Know the Lord," giv- 
ing illustrative incidents occurring in all 
ranks of society. Dr. William Wilson, 
from Dundee, followed, and bore testimony 
to the blessing in that town, and its con- 
tinuance. If the meetings were not so 
crowded as before, there was nevertheless 
evidence, day by day, that the Spirit was 
still working in the midst of them. Mr. 
Taylor, of Kelvinside Free Church, gave a 
word of exhortation, and Dr. Wallace, of 
Campbell Street United Presbyterian 
Church, called attention to the young 
women of Glasgow, of whom there must 
be far more than 70,000. 

Thursday, Feb. 26th. — To-day's noon 
meeting was lively and warm. After sing- 
ing and presenting to the Lord in silent 
and public prayer the numerous requests, 
Matt. vii. 7-1 1 was read, in connection 
with which Mr. Moody detailed several 
most interesting answers to prayer he had 
just heard of in letters from America. One 
of the cases was the following : — He had 
once, after most urgent solicitation, preach- 
ed in a small church in the prairies, where 
one Christian woman continued praying 
day and night for the pleasure-loving young 
people, whose only enjoyment seemed to 
be the song and the dance. A letter re- 
ceived that morning brought the cheering 
tidings that in that same spot thirty-two 
young men were now on the Lord's side, 
and working for Him. Mr. Keay, of Free 
Trinity Church, spoke of last night as the 
most fruitful in his ministry. He had been 
detained in his vestry for five hours, partly 
conversing with inquirers, and partly hear- 
ing the story of deliverance given to awak- 
ened ones. Dr. Buchanan, Free College 
Church, read a letter from all the evangel- 
ical ministers of Kirkwall, and thirty el- 
ders, inviting our beloved and honored 
American brethren to come and help them. 
He then asked all to unite in prayer for 
these brethren in the Orkney Isles. A 
brother related a remarkable blessing fol- 
lowing on his personal dealing with a sea 
captain, afterwards lost in the Black Sea, 



who, saved himself, became a blessing to 
his house. Mr. Gebbie, minister of the 
Established Church, Dunlop, pressed the 
duty of personal dealing. One of the 
deputation from Edinburgh suggested that 
those who dealt with souls should be very 
cautious of mentioning in public any of 
their conversations with them. Dr. Mar- 
shall Lang referred to the remark made 
yesterday by Dr. Wallace, regarding the 
young women of Glasgow, for whom more 
might be done by Christian ladies. After 
a few minutes of silent prayer, some no- 
tices were given, and the meeting closed. 

The Bible-reading yesterday was the 
closing part of Mr. Moody's subject, 
" Heaven, its treasures, etc.," intensely 
interesting and useful. To-day's subject 
was, " The Love of God," repeated in 
John Street Church, in the evening, to a 
densely-crowded audience. At the close 
of the address in the evening, not less than 
two hundred remained for conversation. 
There are new inquirers every day, and 
throughout the city ministers are contin- 
ually discovering traces of the Lord's foot- 
steps, and are themselves stirred up to 
more earnest, prayerful, expectant minis- 
trations. 

Thanks have this week been offered for 
at least three students brought to Christ; 
and thanks for the conversion of two 
youths who, on Sabbath last, came to hear 
simply by way of amusement, and who 
came into the inquiry-meeting for no other 
end. The Lord " was found of them that 
sought Him not." 

On the memorable Tuesday night of the 
young men's meeting, a youth from Ire- 
land was led, on his way to the theatre, to 
turn aside into Ewing Place Chapel, and it 
became his birth-place for eternity. He 
had come to town with a full purpose of 
finding out its gaieties and pleasures, and 
of returning home to tell his companions 
what he had enjoyed. That night he was 
" apprehended " by the Holy Spirit, under 
the solemn, stirring appeals of the deputa- 
tion from Edinburgh. When opportunity 
to come forward for special prayer was 
given to all who would fain be decided for 
the Lord, he pressed forward at once ; all 
the time that prayer was offered by various 
pleaders, his one cry from the heart was, 
" Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner ! " He 
saw and understood the way of salvation, 
but one difficulty remained, viz., " What 
would he feel or do on the morrow ? " 
This difficulty, however, was removed by 



4° 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



the remark of one with whom he con- 
versed, who said, "Surely, if you trust 
Jesus to save you, you may trust Him to 
keep you ever after." He returned to his 
room that night only to tell his astonished 
mend that now he was a new creature 
Every thought about theatre, opera, amuse- 
ment, had given place to the one absorb- 
ing thought of salvation, and a Saviour 
found ! 



FOURTH LETTER. 



There is something far better than 
gold. God thinks so little of gold that in 
the New Jerusalem it is used for paving 
the streets." In one of his Bible-readings 
Mr. Moody made the above remark, and 
every Christian man will understand it. 
Even the joy of winning souls, and of see- 
ing souls won to Christ, is better joy than 
the world's best. And the Lord is giving 
largely of His gladness to His own at this 
time. 

The "thanksgivings" at the various 
meetings are worthy of notice, were it only 
in the way of reminding our readers that, 
like frankincense put to the meat offering 
(Lev. 11. 2), this grace must be in actual 
exercise wherever true prayer is going up 
In everything by prayer and supplication, 
with thanksgiving" (Phil. iv. 6), is the 
divine rule. The leper who has been 
blessed must return to give glory to God. 

There is a children's meeting held every 
Saturday; it is crowded. Other persons 
are not admitted unless they are bringing 
some children with them. As yet, there is 
no very general movement among the 
young, though there are many cases of de- 
cided conversion in several of our Sabbath 
schools. When Mr. E. P. Hammond was 
here among us, six years ago, the great 
blessing came on the young, and only 
drops fell on the older ones. The Lord is 
sovereign as to times and ways of working. 
The meetings this week are as interesting 
as ever. We have had help from brethren 
who sympathize in the work, such as Mr 
George Wilson, of the Tolbooth Church, 
Edinburgh; Mr. Maclaren, from Man- 
chester, so well known in the churches ■ 
and Mr. Arnot, from Edinburgh. At the 
daily prayer-meeting, it is now an every- 
day thing to see the pulpit-stairs, and the 
three front seats, filled with ministers from 
town and country. There are about a 
hundred ministers oftentimes, and most 
truly was it said the other day, " Every 



minister is worth a hundred other persons " 
in reference to the vast influence they may 
exert on their people when they are them- 
selves filled with the Holy Ghost. White- 
field used to say, in regard to this, that 
every minister's name was Legion:' Will 
the Lord's people cry mightily to God in 
their behalf at this season ? If we ministers 
get the fullness of the blessing, if we get a 
fresh and full anointing from the Holy One 
thousands throughout the land -will soon 
know it. 

But let me turn to the young men's 
meetings. On Sabbath morning, at nine 
o clock (March 1), there was a gathering 
m the City Hall of the young men of the 
Glasgow Christian Associations. With 
these 3,000 before him, Mr. Moody spoke 
from the words, "Run, speak to this 
young man " (Zech. ii. 4), Mr. Sankey and 
his choir singing such hymns as " Jesus, 

t e P] ! at , er « °Xi! if f' wil1 give ' fr ^> freel y> 

i ii ' ,.. ^ at are you g° m s to d °> 

brother ? ending with " Hold the fort, for 
I am coming!" 

On Tuesday evening, Mr. Maclaren, of 
Manchester, addressed a vast assembly of 
the same class in the United Presbyterian 
Church, Wellington Street. He spoke 
from John iii. 16, "God so loved the 
world," etc. After setting before them in 
this glorious passage the manifestation and 
outpouring of the love of God, he called 
attention to this feature of the verse — viz., 
that it put the negative side (" not perish "j 
first, and the positive side ("have ever- 
lasting life ") afterwards. The reason of 
this is, that every man who does not believe 
perishes. Notwithstanding that great love 
of God, there is certain destruction to 
every soul that closes itself against Him. 
He that believeth not is condemned al- 
ready ;" and this " is the condemnation 
that men love the darkness." 

Mr. Arnot, of the Free High Church, 
Edinburgh, addressed a similar gathering 
on Wednesday night, taking 2 Pet. i. 3-7 
as his subject, impressing on them the two 
subjects of faith and holiness, and the con- 
nection between these two graces. 

Every night at nine o'clock the young 
men meet, and the work among them 
makes steady progress. On Monday even- 
ing Mr. Moody, as usual, came in near the 
close of the hour, read Rom. x. 10, and 
made some happy remarks on the impor- 
tance of " confessing Christ with the mouth. " 
Through neglect of this, many are left 
in something like darkness, and have llitte 



GLASGOW. 



4i 



joy. We ought to speak for Christ ; at the 
same time we must beware of spiritual 
pride. Heart utterances are what we 
want, not flowing eloquence. Whenever 
the devil whispers, " That was a good ad- 
dress," you are in danger. 

After a hymn had been sung, an oppor- 
tunity was given to those recently brought 
to Christ to tell " how great things the 
Lord had done for them, and how He had 
had compassion on them " (see Mark v. 
19). The first young man who spoke 
began by saying, " I was one of the 101." 
He meant by this expression to refer to the 
memorable Tuesday night last week, when 
a breathing of the Holy Spirit passed 
through the assembly, and 101 young men 
came to the front seats, asking to be prayed 
for, and guided into the truth. The 
speaker added, " I have been wishing to 
be saved for many years. When those 
who were sure that they were Christians 
were asked to stand up, I felt that I could 
not honestly do so, though I was a member 
of the Church, a Sabbath-school teacher, 
and was one of the ten who had sent in a 
request for our warehouse for prayer on 
our behalf. I kept my seat. Mr. Moody 
then asked all that were Christians to 
leave the three front pews. I occupied 
one of these, and when the others went out 
I kept my place. Thinking that I had, 
perhaps, misunderstood him, Mr. Moody 
kindly said to me, ' Are you not a Chris- 
tian ?' I said, ' I am not.' But that very 
night I found Christ." 

A young student next spoke, 
was one of the 10 1 that night, 
taking part in Christian work, I felt my 
need of what I had not found. That night, 
at the meeting for conversation, five of the 
young men in succession spoke to me ; and, 
unknown to the other, quoted to me John v. 
24, ' Verily, verily I say unto you, He that 
heareth my word, and believeth on Him 
that sent me, hath everlasting life.' I was 
at length enabled to apprehend the truth, 
and I now thank the Lord for saving me, 
and pray that all here may be brought to 
Christ." 

Another spoke. " I had been seeking 
Christ a long time. That night, when I 
was going away without relief, Mr. Moody 
came up, and took me kindly by the hand. 
He looked at me — I might say he put his 
two eyes right through mine — and asked 
me if I would take Christ now. I could 
not speak, but my heart said, Yes." 

The above may give some idea of the in- 



" I also 
Though 



tensely interesting scene. A dozen more 
declared what God had done for their 
souls. Not only that night, but on some 
of the after evenings, a similar scene has 
been witnessed. Last night, one very in- 
telligent young man told briefly, but very 
clearly, what his state had been till he was 
awakened on Sabbath evening last, and 
how miserable he had been on the follow- 
ing days, not being able to see that salva- 
tion was for him. Getting a ray of light, 
he went home, read John iii. 36, " He that 
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life," 
and sought on his knees to be led into the 
truth. " And," he added, " God heard me. 
I believed then ; I believe now ; I am a 
ransomed soul." And that the Lord is in 
these meetings who could doubt who saw, 
two nights ago, sixty or seventy of these 
young men, when the invitation was given, 
rise up from their seats, as an intimation 
that they desired to be prayed for, and be 
led to Christ. Our Scottish youth are not 
at all demonstrative in regard to their feel- 
ings ; it is not usual for them to tell out 
what is passing in their hearts on the sub- 
ject of their state towards God ; and this 
fact makes the present movement all the 
more remarkable. Till they have got faith 
they are slow to speak about their feelings. 

On Wednesday, at mid-day, there was a 
prayer-meeting of fathers for their children, 
and on Thursday of mothers. To-day a 
meeting of sisters was held in Ewing Place 
Chapel, to which so many came that the 
place was filled. I understand that there 
was deep solemnity in the meeting, and 
much impression. Mr. Moody stepped in 
to speak an encouraging and guiding word ; 
and it may be this meeting of sisters may 
yet become a mighty power among the 
young women of Glasgow. 

If time and your space permitted, I have 
at hand more facts, which would all be in- 
teresting. Above 200 persons came on 
Monday evening to the United Presbyte- 
rian Church, John street, as persons who 
had recently been awakened. Of these, 
seventy-five professed to have found Christ. 
Last night there was a large number of in- 
quirers in the Free College Church. This 
week the evangelistic meetings are in the 
Free College Church, the overflow passing 
into the Park Established Church. 

I am writing you about Glasgow speci- 
ally ; but you may like to get notice of 
God's work in less known localities. Re- 
quests for prayer come to hand from all 
quarters — e. g., one came to me, asking my 



42 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



congregation to pray for a work of God in 
the district of John O 'Groats' House ; and 
another from Christian friends who live 
near Cape Wrath. Preaching on Wednes- 
day at Auchterarder, I found unmistakable 
traces of God's doings in that quarter ; and 
passing on in the evening to Dollar, found 
an assembly of above 1,000 souls, eager to 
hear the Word ; and at the close, besides 
others, about fifty of the boys and young 
of the Dollar Institute waited for conver- 
sation and inquiry. At the Stirling noon- 
day prayer-meeting, next day, there was a 
large attendance. There have been not a 
few awakened there of late, and the inter- 
est is deepening. The ministers of all de- 
nominations take part most cordially. 
There, too, I heard of work going on not 
only in such places as Alva and Dunferm- 
line, but in obscure parishes. Souls are 
coming from great distances to ask the 
way of life at the lips of those who can tell 
it, and these souls awakened to this con- 
cern by no direct means, but evidently by 
the Holy Spirit, who is breathing over the 
land. It is such a time as we never had 
in Scotland before. The same old gospel 
is preached to all men as aforetime ; Christ, 
who was made sin for us, Christ the Sub- 
stitute, Christ's blood, Christ's righteous- 
ness, Christ crucified, the power of God 
and the wisdom of God unto salvation ; 
but now the gospel is preached " with the 
Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." And 
amid all this the enemy is restrained, so 
that we are solemnly reminded of Rev, vii. 
1-3, the time before the coming of the 
Lord, when the four angels are charged to 
let no storm burst, not to allow the wind 
even to ruffle the sea's smooth surface, or 
move a leaf of any tree, till the seal of the 
living God has been put on His elect. Is 
not this sealing going on daily among us ? 
Are not the four angels looking on ? 
Surely it is time to seek the Lord, that He 
may rain righteousness upon us. 



FIFTH LETTER. 



" The kingdom of Heaven suffereth vio- 
lence, and the violent take it by force " 
(Matt. xi. 12), was said of John the Bap- 
tist's days. In answer to such prayers as 
he sent up during his thirty years in the 
deserts of Judea, the Holy Ghost was at 
work, and everywhere were found men in 
right and real earnest about salvation. You 
might have seen them thronging the road 
to Jericho and the wilderness, leaving 
home, comforts, business, friends, intent 



on the one great matter that filled their, 
minds day and night. " The kingdom of 
heaven suffereth violence " — men pressed 
into it with all the eager determination 
with which soldiers press into an assailed 
city (like Coomassie) — " and the violent 
took it by force." Those who were thus 
intensely earnest snatched, as the word 
means, the kingdom at once, as the robber 
does the purse he covets, seizing his op- 
portunity. All this we see before our eyes 
in the present time of revival; men are 
truly in earnest, and they catch the gift of 
God at once, while the cold formalists 
wonder and dispute against sudden con- 
versions, " not knowing the Scriptures, nor 
the power of God." 

When I closed last week's letter, I men- 
tioned various places in Scotland where 
God was working. There are many other 
districts equally interesting. At Aberuth- 
ven, near Auchterarder, almost every house 
in the village has some one under its roof 
awakened by the Spirit. In Dumfriesshire, 
at Lockerbie and at Moffat, not less than 
seventy in each place have been awakened. 
Near Glasgow, not Chryston only, but 
other places, such as Kirkintilloch, are 
shaken. At the daily prayer-meeting last 
Monday, it was stated that there had been 
not less than 300 inquirers and converts in 
the inquiry meeting in Free St. David's on 
Sabbath evening. A friend mentioned 
that at Dalmellington, in Ayrshire, a work 
had begun ; seven had been lately con- 
verted. Dr. Black, of United Presbyterian 
Wellington Church, gave extracts from a 
letter from England, showing a work be- 
gun in a district where there had been no 
special means. Mr. Moody read, from 
letters just received, accounts of friends 
brought to Christ. Mr. Wells, of Free 
Barony Church, stated that he had a list 
of seventy persons in his congregation who 
had received blessing during the meetings. 
Mr. Barlas, of United Presbyterian Church, 
Belgrave street, stated cases occurring in 
his district. Mr. Taylor, of Free Church, 
Kelvinside, spoke of this last week as the 
happiest in his ministry since he came to 
Glasgow. He had seen abundant proof 
that the Spirit of God was at work in the 
midst of the city. His visits as a pastor 
brought to light most interesting cases, in 
all grades of society. All sorts of instru- 
mentality also seemed to be employed. He 
had been told of one awakened by the 
singing of the hymn where these words 
occur — 

" Let some droppings fall on nic — even me" 



GLASGOW. 



43 



One day thanks were given for a person 
who had been blessed while the hymn, 
" Jesus of Nazareth passeth by," was be- 
ing sung ; and several other cases were 
reported in which the same hymn had 
been blessed. Last night I met a Chris- 
tian working-man, who joyfully informed 
me that " in the building-yard where he 
worked, this week there had been two 
boys and three men brought to Christ" 
" I give thanks for six," was on a paper 
handed in at the prayer-meeting ; while a 
disciple, who had for many years been 
pleading for the conversion of near and 
dear relatives, asked the meeting to join 
him in thanksgiving for a daughter saved, 
a nephew and several nieces. A letter 
said : " We cannot leave Glasgow without 
telling you that the brother whom we told 
you of as having come here to attend the 
meetings, left for London this evening, we 
firmly believe, resting in Jesus." 

A lady asked prayer for her own con- 
version, stating, " I have come from Swit- 
zerland on purpose to be present at the 
meetings. I have every reason to believe 
in the power of prayer, having been cured 
through prayer, at a small village in Swit- 
zerland, after having been dangerously ill 
for thirteen years. I should be extremely 
sorry to leave Glasgow without receiv- 
ing what I came for. I have been well 
brought up, but am not a Christian." A 
case like this reminds us of Acts v. 16 : 
: '_Then came a multitude out of the 
cities round about, bringing their sick 
folks, and them that were vexed with un- 
clean spirits." 

And yet more, this other, from a person 
about twenty miles out of town : " Dear 
sir, — Would you kindly forward four tick- 
ets to admit to the morning meeting on 
Sabbath first to the City Hall. I have 
never had the pleasure of being present 
at any of these precious meetings that 
have been held in Glasgow, though a con- 
stant reader of the reports given in the 
various newspapers ; but I will be in Glas- 
gow on Sabbath first along with three 
friends. Going in the spirit of anxious 
inquirers, we pray God that it may be our 
blessed privilege to come home having 
found that Christ is indeed precious to 
each of us." 

Another day, at noon, four young men, 
from a mining district in Ayrshire, were 
found waiting at the close of the meeting 
to speak to Mr. Moody, if possible. He 
had gone out ; but they sat down in the 
inquiry-room with one of the ministers 



who was still there. "Are you all of one 
mind ? are you all in Christ ? " was the 
question put to them. " Three of us are 
Christ's, but our friend here (pointing to 
the fourth) is not." The minister entered 
into conversation with the unsaved but 
anxious one, and found out his state of 
mind. He showed him that Christ was 
offering to be his substitute, and to appear 
in the presence of God for him, and asked, 
" Will you believe in Him as He so offers 
Himself to you ? " In a moment the lad's 
countenance changed, and, half springing 
from his seat, he struck the Bible with his 
hand, exclaiming, " I see it all ! " The 
scale had fallen from his eyes, and he, 
with his three friends, who had been to 
him like the friends of the palsied man, 
left the room to return home by the train, 
rejoicing. 

One other case. A young man attracted 
Mr. Moody's attention at an inquiry-meet- 
ing, an intelligent young man who had 
long been anxious. Mr. Moody discov- 
ered that one thing had hindered his full* 
decision, viz., want of courage to tell his 
wife all that was passing through his mind. 
But last Sabbath afternoon he was ena- 
bled to go home and frankly tell all he 
felt. It turned out that she too was in 
deep anxiety, only waiting to have the ice 
broken. The result has been complete 
deliverance of soul to that young man, 
who is now able to help others in the way. 
A similar case to the above is the one 
brought out in the following letter from 
one in Edinburgh, which Mr. Sankey 
read yesterday : " I have such good news 
to tell you. When you were here, you 
wanted me to write to my sister about 
Jesus and coming to Him ; but my old 
sinful heart went dead against it. Dr. S., 
however, began to tell me that my health 
was very precarious, and all your advice 
came back to me. I did write to my sis- 
ter, a girl about sixteen. My want of 
faith has been reproved ; for I had such a 
letter from her, telling me she had felt 
sure all this winter that there had been a 
change in me, and why I had not written 
to her before ; and she ended by confess- 
ing that she could resist no longer, but 
had taken Christ, and, God helping her, 
would live for Him. Please pray for 
her, and encourage all young converts to 
write to their friends. Another thing you 
wanted me to do went fearfully against 
the grain, and that was to hold meetings. 
Had anybody told me last year that I'd 
ever come to do such a thing, I'd have 



44 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



scoffed at them. So you see it's nothing 
of myself, but something that makes me, 
in spite of myself, long to work for Jesus. 
Will you pray for my Canongate meeting ? 
I've got such bad characters ; oh, if I could 
only reach them ! drunkards, and profane 
people who don't believe in hell — my heart 
just yearns over them. It was a fearful 
effort at first to speak for Christ, but now 
* I love to tell the story,' for 'All to Christ 
I owe.' As I came home last night I 
heard such beautiful singing at the head 
of one of the lowest streets here. Com- 
ing up I found some young men were 
singing ' Depths of Mercy,' in parts, and 
whenever they had gathered a crowd, in- 
vited them to accompany them to the 
meeting. A great many followed them. 
I know it will cheer Mr. Moody to hear 
of the hint he threw out being thus taken 
up by these young Christians. The work 
here goes on wonderfully ; it is too great 
to be spoken of. — Your loving friend in 
Christ." 

I am scarcely leaving myself space to 
speak of other parts of the work. The evan- 
gelistic meetings have been held this week 
again in the Free College Church. The 
subjects have been, "Where art thou?" 
" How long halt ye between two opin- 
ions ? " and "Sir, remember." The last 
of these addresses was awfully solemn. 
Mr. Moody related, as an illustration of 
memory being ready to yield back all the 
past at God's touch, how he himself in 
early days was nearly drowned, sinking 
twice, and caught the third time he came 
to the surface. During the time he was 
under water, all that was buried in his 
memory came up before him. And so 
the memory of Abel's blood flowing from 
the deadly wound is ever before Cain, and 
so with all the sins of sinners. This 
makes hell terrible beyond measure, and 
there is no sleep there. " If I did not be- 
lieve in hell for ever, would I (said he) 
come here to preach night after night ? 
If I did not believe in that hell, I would 
be off to my home by the first boat that 
sails from the Clyde." 

The Bible-readings have been in the 
Park Church (Established), and the sub- 
jects this week have been " The Holy 
Ghost," "Jacob," "Daniel." All the 
meetings are crowded to the door more 
than ever, and there is daily fruit. 

On Sabbath morning, the members of 
the Glasgow Young Men's Society for 
Religious Improvement, filled the City 



Hall at nine o'clock a. m. There were 
young men present who had walked in 
that morning from Englesham, Kilbride, 
and other places. We do thank God that 
Mr. Moody's " hands are made strong by 
the mighty God of Jacob," so that he is 
able to work night and day, and certainly 
he never wearies in spirit. He read Luke 
xix. 1-13, and spoke briefly to the saved 
on " Occupy till I come," urging them 
this week to resolve by God's grace, every 
one of them, to speak to and seek the 
conversion of at least one soul each. A 
large number, when opportunity was given, 
rose in response to this appeal, and during 
the week it was evident that the resolution 
was not forgotten. One petition came in 
to the noon-day prayer-meeting " from a 
young man who promised to seek to bring 
a soul to Jesus ; pray that he may have 
grace to be faithful in dealing with two 
young men in his warehouse who are anx- 
ious to find peace in Jesus." The main 
part of the address was to the unsaved, 
and when, in his closing prayer, Mr. 
Moody stopped for half a minute, there 
was profound silence over that assembly 
of 3,000 young men, broken in upon by 
the yearning, urgent pleading, " O Lord, 
speak to them ! speak to them Thyself! " 
At the Young Men's meeting in Ewing 
Place Chapel on Tuesday evening, Mr. 
John Burns, of Castle Wemyss, presided, 
and gave a most hearty address. He read 
from and held up the character of Nehe- 
miah. " We business men in this great 
city are exposed to many temptations, and 
are often in great perplexity. Let us, like 
Nehemiah, ' pray to the God of heaven.' 
Speaking from experience, I can testify to 
the value of prayer in the case of business 
men. I have great faith in prayer, silent 
and instant prayer. We have not time 
during the day, in the midst of business, 
to go to our knees ; but let our hearts go 
up." He then spoke of Ihe work now 
going on, as a work of God, from which 
the best fruits might be expected. He 
was followed, in a few words, by Arch- 
deacon McLean, who accompanied him. 
As usual, a large number of the young 
men waited for inquiry. One of them- 
selves, on Wednesday evening, spoke as 
follows; and his words were felt by all 
present : " I would like to say a word as 
to the power of prayer. Seven years ago, 
about a stone-throw from where we now 
stand, a young sneering infidel retired to 
his bed on a Sabbath evening. About 



GLASGOW. 



45 



three hours after, that same youth rose 
and cried to God to have mercy on his 
soul. Some of you may say, ' Oh, that's 
a story made up, and far-fetched.' No, it 
is not. I was that youth. When I retired 
to bed, three of my young friends were 
assembled in another room, wrestling with 
God for my conversion. I could not 
sleep. I arose and went into them, 
and asked them to pray for my soul. I 
found the Saviour ; and, blessed be His 
name, I have followed Him ever since. 
My companions scoffed, and said that it 
would soon pass away ; but I have been 
kept. I have tasted all the pleasures of 
life in other days, but I am here to tes- 
tify that the love of Jesus is sweeter than 
all. Young men, don't be deceived ; the 
pleasures and the philosophies of this 
world pass away. Take Christ, and He 
will satisfy the longing soul." Night after 
night, there are not only such addresses, 
and many inquirers, but also many con- 
versions. 

I had intended to tell you a little about 
the ministers' meeting for prayer and con- 
ference, on Wednesday, at which about 
200 were present, of all denominations ; 
and many from the country. But this 
must be reserved ; and meanwhile let me 
entreat every reader to pray for a baptism 
of fire, a gift of " Power" (Acts i. 8) to 
every minister of Christ who carries Christ's 
message to the Churches. 



II. 

Dr. Bonar's letters bring down the rec- 
ord to March 13th. The noon-day meet- 
ings and those for the children continued 
to be maintained with unflagging interest. 
On the 13th of March the requests for 
prayer were as many as 150 in number. 
Sunday morning, the 15th inst, Mr. Moody 
delivered his lecture on Daniel to 3,000 
young men assembled in the City Hall ; 
and Mr. Sankey at the close of the service 
sang " Daniel's Band " and " Hold the 
Fort," with the strong choruses, in which 
the vast assemblage joined. " Evangelist 
Meetings" were begun in the eastern dis- 
trict of the city on Sabbath evening, the 
15th inst. On Monday there was another 
service, when it was determined to con- 
tinue the meetings in the same church 
during the remaining evenings of that 
week. At the same time there were four 
evening meetings for young men, under the 
charge of other workers, going on in differ- 



ent parts of the city. There were also 
ministers meetings, and meetings of par- 
ents, with meetings of the Good Templars 
and meetings held by the Evangelists in sur- 
rounding districts. On the 30th of March 
they were present at the daily prayer- 
meeting held in the ship-building yard of 
Alex. Stefters & Sons, where there was a 
large attendance of the workingmen, the 
number being variously estimated from 
1,500 to 2,000. All the partners of the 
firm were present. On the 5 th of April 
a praise meeting was held in the City 
Hall. On the 8th and 9th of April Mr. 
Sankey and Mr. Moody attended the noon 
prayer-meeting held in the Town Hall at 
Greenock ; and on the 16th there was a 
church convention on the revival move- 
ment, which was largely attended. 



III. 

The Daily Mail thus sketches the work, 
of the revival in Glasgow, its agencies, 
and results : 

During the six days beginning with 
Tuesday of last week the suburb of Hill- 
head was nine times flooded with crowds 
hurrying to the Crystal Palace. This 
unique glass house is the largest place of 
public assembly in Scotland, and can seat 
about four thousand, while a thousand 
or two more may be crowded into it. 
Tuesday evening was for the young wo- 
men. Hundreds appealed in vain for 
tickets after 7,500 had been distributed, 
and hundreds who had them struggled 
in vain for admission. The building was 
crowded up to the fainting point, and the 
meeting was partly spoiled by its numeri- 
cal success. On Wednesday the young 
men who were ticket-holders darkened 
the Great Western Road more than an 
hour before the time of meeting. All 
comers were welcome on Thursday, so 
long as there was a.ry room. In spite of 
the rain the Palace was filled by seven 
o'clock, and about one- half of the audi- 
ence seemed to be young men of the 
middle classes. On Friday the noon 
prayer-meeting was transferred to the 
Palace, which was comfortably filled with 
the better, or better-off classes. Friday 
evening's meeting was the most signifi- 
cant of the series. Tickets for it were 
given only to those who, on applying for 
them in person, declared that they be- 
lieved themselves to have been converted 



4 6 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



since January ist, and gave their names 
addresses, and church connection, which 
information, we are told, is to be for- 
warded to their several pastors. It was 
publicly stated that about 3,500 received 
tickets on these conditions. As the 
Americans did not arrive till six weeks 
after the New Year, and as the tickets 
were not exclusively for the frequenters 
of their meetings, it was hardly fair in 
one of our contemporaries to insinuate 
that the object was to number and ticket 
Moody's converts. The children had 
their turn on Saturday at noon, and the 
working people at night. On Sunday 
morning the young women were admitted 
by ticket, and at six o'clock p. m. the 
Palace was filled both inside and outside, 
asan Irishman would say. While several 
ministers, along with Mr. Sankey, con- 
ducted the service inside, Mr. Moody 
addressed a crowd in the open air that 
filled the whole space between the Palace 
and the gate of the Botanic Gardens. 
Many hundreds did not even get the 
length of the garden gate. The estimates 
of the vast throng— mere guess-work, of 
course — range from 15,000 to 30,000. A 
month ago, in the same place and under 
the same_ auspices, another meeting was 
held for six and a-half hours. We refer 
to the "Christian Convention," which 
Dr. Cairns declared to be " unparalleled in 
the history of the Scotch, perhaps of Brit- 
ish, Christianity." It was reported that 
about 5,000 were present, of whom some 
2,000 were ministers and office-bearers 
from Scotland and the north of England. 
Now these are conspicuous facts, and 
challenge the respectful attention and sym- 
pathy of all, whatever their religious views 
may be, were it on no higher principle 
than that of the ancient poet, "I am a 
man, and deem nothing human uninterest- 
ing to me." Some have already photo- 
graphed the^ humorous side of these religi- 
ous assemblies, and proved what, we dare 
say, nobody will deny, that some blemishes 
cleave to them. We are persuaded, how- 
ever, that many of our readers will not be 
disinclined to look at the higher aspects of 
" these wondrous gatherings day by day." 
For we are not aware that so many large 
and representative meetings have been 
drawn together in Glasgow within six 
days by any cause or interest whatever 
during the present century. Here is a 
novel addition to " the May meetings " — 
a new General Assembly, with representa- 



tives of almost every class of society and 
every Protestant Church in the land. 

The religious movement, of which 
these meetings are the most outstanding 
manifestation, dates, so far as it met the 
public eye, from " the week of prayer " 
in the beginning of January. The minis- 
ters and office-bearers of almost all the 
churches then met, and formed a com- 
mittee to arrange for united prayer-meet- 
ings, and also for the expected visit of 
the American Evangelists. The record 
of what was going on in the north of 
England, and especially in Edinburgh, 
had previously inflamed, as well as in- 
formed, many of the more receptive and 
sympathetic souls. Tokens of growing 
interest had also been appearing in many 
quarters, and evangelistic services, such 
as those conducted by Mr. Brownlow 
North and others, had indicated that the 
spiritual thermometer was steadily rising. 
During the first week of January St. 
George's Church was crowded at noon, 
while the overflow was accommodated in 
Hope Street Free Gaelic Church. After 
the first fortnight Wellington Street U. P. 
Church was made the centre, where, on an 
average, about a thousand met daily for 
prayer. In the second week of February 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey began their 
work among us; and for the last three 
months they have conducted meetings 
every day, with a few exceptions. The 
mind experiences a sense of fatigue in de- 
tailing their efforts. They certainly have 
not spared themselves. Here is some- 
thing like an average week-day's work — 
12 to 1 o'clock, prayer-meeting; 1 to 2 
o'clock, conversation with individuals ; 4 
to 5 o'clock, Bible lecture, attended by 
some 1,200 or 1,500; 7 to 8:30 o'clock, 
evangelistic meeting, with inquiry meeting 
at close ; 9 to 10 o'clock, young men's 
meeting. The tale of some Sabbath-day's 
work is even heavier: 9 to 10 o'clock, 
City Hall; 11 to 12:30 o'clock, a church 
service; 5 to 7 o'clock, women's; 7 to 9 
o'clock, men's meetings in City Hall. Very 
few men possess, or at least exercise such 
powers of service; though, in addition to 
the aid from the realm beyond on which 
true workers rely, we doubt not that con- 
genial and successful Christian work may 
sustain a man beyond any other form of 
human effort. Admission to these meet- 
ings was usually by ticket — a necessary 
precaution against perilous overcrowding. 
The animated scenes of last week in the 



GLASGOW. 



47 



Botanic Gardens prove that the interest 
has not waned, even after three months 
use and wont had worn off the edge of 
novelty. 

Accepting this as a genuine Christian 
work, it may be worth while to fix atten- 
tion on some of its leading characteris- 
tics and results. We would say here, in 
passing, that we cannot well understand 
why some educated minds, without grant- 
ing a hearing, condemn religious revivals 
out and out on philosophical grounds. 
Viewed on the human side, the philos- 
ophy of revivals, as they term it, is just 
a department of the philosophy of his- 
tory. In no region has progress _ been 
uniformly steady and gradual ; but it has 
been now and then by great strides, by 
fits and starts, and such events as the 
Germans call epoch-making. In all the 
affairs of men there have been tides with 
full floods. Every channel along which 
human energies pour themselves has 
had its "freshets." We are all familiar 
with revivals in trade, science, literature, 
arts, and politics. Times of refreshing 
and visitation are not much more frequent 
in sacred than in secular history ; and they 
indicate the most interesting and fruitful 
periods in both. 

To say that the work betrays some im- 
perfections, and that there have been many 
objectors, is only to say what has been 
justly said of every great enterprise, civil 
and religious. But this revival seems to 
be distinguished from all previous revivals 
by the circumstance that it has been en- 
dorsed by something like the Catholic 
consent of the churches. From the out- 
set, nearly all our leading ministers, and 
not a few of our foremost laymen, identi- 
fied themselves with it. They sat and 
sang together on the pulpit stairs and 
platform at the daily prayer-meeting. A 
Highland member of the Free Church 
• Presbytery lately protested against some 
of the accompaniments; and in a court 
that numbers about 150 members, there 
was not one to second his lament. One 
of our most conservative churches — the 
Reformed Presbyterian — gave its unani- 
mous and cordial approval the other day 
at its Synod. 

The unfriendly letter-writers fall into 
two classes. Some sign themselves clergy- 
men, and are much exorcised about their 
clerical status. If any in these days will 
make it their chief concern to stand upon 
their official dignity, they shall find by- 



and-by that they have not much ground to 
stand upon. No evangelists, however, 
have come among us who have more re- 
spected the position and influence of the 
ministers. Mr. Moody's first statement at 
his first meeting in the City Hall was, that 
he met with the Sabbath-school teachers 
first, because he knew that no class would 
welcome him more heartily, with the single 
exception of the ministers, and that it 
would be presumption in him to lecture 
them. The other class of unfriendly 
critics write in the interest of intellectual- 
ism and culture in its " broadest " sense. 
We suspect that the " sages," whose pro- 
fession is, as one of themselves has said, 
that they are neither great sinners _ nor 
great saints, are the enemies of revivals 
only because they are the enemies of the 
things revived. Would they object, for 
instance, to a revival that gave body and 
popular attractions to the worn-out ideas 
which they commend as the ne plus ultra 
of attainable truth ? At all events, it will 
not do for them to say that only the wo- 
men and the children have been attracted, 
for there has been nightly a most impos- 
ing muster of the vigorous manhood of our 
city, and the City Hall has been often 
found too small to accommodate the men 
who flocked to some of the special services. 
Mr. Moody is very fortunate in having 
such a colleague as Mr. Sankey. He has 
enriched evangelistic work by something 
approaching the discovery of a new power. 
He spoils the Egyptians of their finest 
music, and consecrates it to the service 
of the Tabernacle. Music in his hands 
is, more than it has yet been, the hand- 
maid of the gospel, and the voice of the 
heart. We have seen many stirred and 
melted by his singing before a word had 
been spoken. Indeed, his singing is just 
a powerful, distinct, and heart-toned 
way of speaking, that seems often to 
reach the heart by a short cut, when 
mere speaking might lose the road. 
Most people admit that the work has 
been conducted in a very calm and sober- 
minded fashion. Mr. Moody is credited 
with a large share of shrewdness and 
common sense. He has not yielded to 
the temptations that powerfully assail 
his class. He does not give himself out 
to be coddled and petted by well-mean- 
ing, but injudicious admirers. We have 
not noticed in him that offensive affecta- 
tion of superior piety that provoked a 
sarcastic acquaintance of ours to say that 



48 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



some revivalists seemed to begin their 
story as Virgil makes .^Eneas begin his 
— " I am the pious ^Eneas." He keeps 
close to the essentials, and is free from 
such crotchets as often narrow the sphere 
and destroy the influence of evangelists. 
1 It is not irritation but balm that he tries 
to bring to our religious divisions. It 
must be owned that a premium has not 
been set on the hysterical, the convulsive, 
and the sensational forms of religious 
excitement. The proverbial ' weakness 
for numbers has been more apparent in 
some of his sympathizers than in him- 
self. Nor does he make himself respon- 
sible for the reality of every apparent 
conversion. He has set his face sternly 
against the religious dissipation in which 
some of his most indefatigable hearers 
rejoice. Novelty-hunters and marvel- 
mongers have not been gratified. Sight- 
seers have been usually excluded from 
the meetings for inquirers, and only 
" workers " have been admitted. That 
there has been nothing necessarily re- 
pellant to thoughtful and educated people 
is proved by the number of middle-class 
young men in sympathy, and by the fair 
proportion of them at the " Converts' 
Meeting," and also by the crowds of 
genteel people at the quiet afternoon 
Bible lectures. Though he has intro- 
duced some novel methods, he has stuck 
to the simple old truths, and his convic- 
tions are in entire accord with Scottish 
orthodoxy. His straightforward, busi- 
ness-like, slap-dash style gives a fascinat- 
ing air of reality to all he says, while 
his humor, capital hits, vivid and 
homely illustrations, and now and again 
his deep feeling, seldom fail to rivet 
the attention of his hearers. He has 
not a round-about and far-off way of 
handling divine things, and hence many 
accuse him of abruptness, brusqueness, and 
undue familiarity. The Christian life he 
commends is manly and genial, intense, 
and yet not strained or twisted. These 
features go far to explain what would be 
called in America his personal magnetism. 
Many ask, " But will it last ? What is to 
come out of all this ?" In Edinburgh, they 
say that since the Americans left the im- 
pression has been steadily increasing, and 
that it has entered influential spheres al- 
most untouched before. The summer- 
scatterings will severely test the reality of 
the movement, but perhaps they may also 
scatter a share of the stimulus along both 



sides of the Clyde. The avowed end from 
the first has been that the ordinary con- 
gregational channels might be flushed and 
flooded with fresh energy. Such extraor- 
dinary efforts are most successful, though 
their success is less apparent when they 
add new power to ordinary agencies. If 
this be the result, the friends of the move- 
ment will have no cause for disappoint- 
ment, while its enemies will point to the 
absence of demonstrative accompaniments 
as a proof that it has entirely collapsed. 

We may expect that something will be 
gained from the experience of the past 
months. New methods of conducting 
meetings are already finding favor. Some 
may be in danger of surrendering hastily 
their individuality, and adopting modes of 
speech and action foreign to them. We 
may easily ascribe too much to the new 
methods of the American Evangelists, 
Their success is due largely to the fact 
that they approached the Scottish churches 
on the side on which they are weakest. It 
would seem that Scottish styles are about 
as popular in America as American styles 
have proved in Scotland, and for the very 
same reason. At the Evangelical Alliance 
in New York the speakers from our 
country were most appreciated, because 
they were • strong where Americans felt 
themselves to be weak. The career of Dr. 
Hall in New York is also a notable case in 
point. By all means let us have more 
elasticity, and a greater readiness to adopt 
and adapt whatever is serviceable. But 
after all, new methods will not help the 
churches a great deal. The surprise and 
force of contrast soon wear off; and if men 
go too far for a little in any direction, they 
take their revenge in abandoning what 
formerly they over-praised. Age and 
repetition by-and-by make the most skill- 
ful methods dull and conventional. The 
grand need is far deeper — an inward 
vitality that makes men and churches 
fresh, various, and fruitful. If, as we 
are told, multitudes in all the churches 
have been recently quickened, new 
bottles should be made, as well as bor- 
rowed for the new wine. 

Some confidently expect a more general 
cooperation of Christians than has hith- 
erto prevailed. Dr. James Hamilton's 
quaint illustration has been so far verified. 
When the tide is out, each shrimp has a 
little pool of salt water, which is to him all 
the ocean for the time being. But when 
the rising ocean begins to lip over the mar- 



GLASGO W. 



49 



gin of his lurking place, one pool joins an- 
other, their various tenants meet and min- 
gle, and soon they have ocean's boundless 
fields to roam in. It will be a pity if an 
ebbing tide carries each back to his little 
narrow pool. 

The relation of this work to the masses 
has been much discussed. Those who 
blame Mr. Moody for not working among 
them should remember that the tickets for 
all the meetings were distributed by the 
ministers of each district, and that in some 
cases the non-church-going had the pref- 
erence. Recent speeches in Presbyteries 
and Synods show that many are anxious to 
give a home mission direction to the move- 
ment. Quickened life in presence of neg- 
lected multitudes must approve its sincer- 
ity by zealous mission work. We hear 
that the committee have already purchased 
a monster tent, capable of holding 2,000, 
and that it will soon be one of their chief 
rallying points. The young ladies of the 
choir, who give invaluable aid, are likely, 
it is said, to continue at their post. This 
would be a very graceful and telling way 
of bringing together the East and West 
End. Hundreds of young ladies with 
splendid voices a.nd an expensive musical 
education might thus find a grateful relief 
from ennui, and a healthful substitute for 
other excitements. The work among the 
masses gives them a fine opportunity of 
gaining a recompense for all the trouble 
and cost by which they have become 
gifted musicians. It will be a new power 
to them, and to many preachers who can 
appreciate such cooperation. Even if we 
accept the estimates of the most sanguine 
— if we admit that thousands have been 
deeply stirred — if we grant that many of 
the best fruits of this work would not care 
to ask tickets for Friday night's meeting, 
and if we thus double or quadruple the 
numbers present, we shall then have only 
one or two per cent, of our population who 
are reported to have come decidedly under 
the influence of the movement, while the 
lowest classes have hardly been touched by 
it. Now, authorized reports speak of some 
outlandish parishes where one-tenth, and 
even as many as one-third, of the inhabit- 
ants have been deeply impressed. That 
is to say, in some out-of-the-way places the 
apparent results have been ten or twenty 
times greater than in Glasgow. The friends 
of this work have, therefore, reason for 
hoping that — to use the words of one of 
their favorite hymns — " still there 's more 
to follow." 



IV. 

THE FAREWELL MEETINGS IN 
GLASGOW. 

There is no doubt that the instrumen- 
tality of Mr. Moody has been greatly 
blessed to many in Glasgow during the 
past months. God often chooses for His 
purposes the weak things of the earth, 
but He as often takes men of great 
natural gifts, and uses them powerfully 
to impress others. Mr. Moody belongs 
to the latter class; he is possessed of 
great ability and tact, and of a most re- 
markable capacity for work. He has 
also great knowledge of the Scriptures, 
and is so evidently in earnest, believing 
he has God's commission to speak, that 
his power is above that of most men. 
Mr. Sankey has the same genuine ring, 
and by the judicious use of music has 
attracted many ; but the power to keep 
them has mainly been given to his fellow- 
worker. 

Many who have remarked on the sub- 
ject of the revival have directed their ob- 
servations towards our American brethren 
alone. They have doubtless been as the 
mainspring of the movement, used by 
God for that purpose, but all the other 
parts have also been in operation, many 
clergymen and laymen carrying on simul- 
taneous work. 

The last week has been a most impress- 
ive one ; the interest may be said to have 
culminated in the assemblages in the 
Kibble Palace. On Tuesday evening, the 
1 2 th current, a great meeting of women 
took place there ; all classes and ages 
were largely represented, and the bearing 
of the majority was most devout. Al- 
though upwards of five thousand were 
accommodated within the building, the 
issue of tickets had been so liberal that 
nearly two thousand more could not gain 
admittance, and were addressed on the 
green outside by various clergymen. Even 
among those who could hear nothing the 
greatest good humor prevailed. It was 
noticeable that many stood round the 
closed doors, where they could neither 
hear nor see, preferring not to listen to 
the other preachers, as they had come in 
their thousands, attracted by the fame of 
" Moody and Sankey." 

On Wednesday night, upwards of seven 
thousand men managed to find sitting and 
standing room within the Palace, packing, 
exceedingly close. The vast assemblage 



5° 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



was most decorous, and obeyed orders 
implicitly. The full, strong singing of the 
hymns was a sound to be remembered. 
Numbers of inquirers gathered afterwards 
in the opposite church, and many could 
state that there was a good result of that 
night's work. 

Admission to these two meetings had 
been exclusively by ticket ; but on Thurs- 
day night the Palace was open to all, so 
that the doors had to be shut, leaving large 
numbers outside. The meetings through- 
out were conducted in the usual vigorous 
style, Mr. Moody being president, and de- 
livering pointed addresses — clergymen and 
laymen relating their own experiences, and 
bringing forward instances and reports of 
the work elsewhere. 

On Friday evening came the meeting 
for those who professed to have been con- 
verted during the last few months. The 
tickets for this had only been given to 
those who placed their names and address- 
es, and the name of their minister, on a 
Register opened for the purpose ; and of 
which they were informed, extracts would 
be forwarded to the clergymen to whose 
churches they belonged, thus to prevent 
thoughtless application for converts' tick- 
ets, an ultimate check being established. 
The Palace was comfortably filled, and the 
utmost order prevailed. In looking over 
the assemblage, it was apparent that the 
great proportion consisted of young peo- 
ple, probably under twenty-five years of 
age. There was a preponderance of fe- 
males, about in the proportion of three to 
two. All were well-dressed, clear-eyed 
people, in the ring of whose voices, when 
singing the opening hymn of praise, more 
than the common sound was heard. It 
was a glorious sight. Some, no doubt, 
may have joined that throng without due 
warrant; but with such exceptions, each 
individual had found his title clearly writ- 
ten in the Word of his Lord and Master. 
One instance came within our knowledge 
of two ladies who, receiving tickets under 
a misapprehension, personally came to de- 
liver them up. This was the more honor- 
able, as many would have entered by any 
means in their power, had the Register not 
stood in the way. An instance, indeed, 
occurred of one old lady, who, having made 
up her mind to enter, would take no denial, 
and indignantly gave the peculiar reason 
for insistence, that she was well known to 
the best people of the West End, and to 
the magistrates of the city and county. 



On Saturday came the meeting for chil- 
dren, and in the evening another for grown 
people ; but the greatest gathering of the 
week took place on the Sabbath, when, af- 
ter a meeting in the morning for women 
who had not obtained admittance on the 
previous Tuesday, the gates were thrown 
open in the afternoon to all comers. Such a 
crowd came as had never been seen in these 
parts before. Many a time during the week 
the Great Western Road had been darkened 
for an hour and a half with the living stream, 
but that night for three hours the stream 
was incessant. Vehicles were not easily 
to be had on Sunday, so nearly all came 
on foot — all classes, " gentle and simple," 
young and old, blind and lame. The 
Palace was immediately filled, but the 
afternoon sun was so hot there that soon 
the whole had to turn out on the green ; 
there a crowd, variously estimated at from 
twenty to thirty thousand, was soon gath- 
ered. Some apprehension was enter- 
tained that mishaps might ensue inside or 
outside the building ; but by the exercise 
of considerable firmness, and compliance 
with orders on the part of the people, the 
danger was happily averted. Mr. Moody 
addressed the crowd standing on the box 
of a private carriage, and by those within 
comfortable earshot he was considered to 
have surpassed himself in earnestness and 
force. The singing of the sweet hymns 
by such a strength of voices, sounding 
upon that quiet sunny Sabbath evening 
from amid the fresh foilage of the gardens, 
was deeply impressive. Such a sight, too, 
had probably never before been seen with- 
in the limits of the land. While the main 
body dispersed, filling all the approaches 
and the public roads, about five thousand 
Christians, and those professedly anxious 
about their own state, gathered inside the 
Palace, and for the last time heard the 
voice of the man for whom such an affec- 
tion has sprung up in the hearts of many. 
The scene was impressive when an Eng- 
lish speaker, with rapid and energetic ut- 
terance, reminded the assemblage, many 
of whom had the greatest cause to thank 
God for all He had recently done for and 
by them, that that man (Mr. Moody) ought 
to be constantly remembered in the pray- 
ers of all to whom he had proved an in- 
strument of grace. Many were much 
moved. Mr. Moody then took a farewell 
of the people, most of whom he could never 
hope to see again in the body, and as a final 
message declared that many Christian 



PAISLEY AND GREENOCK. 



5i 



friends in that place and elsewhere had 
agreed to unite in prayer that night for 
those then gathered together who might 
be anxious about their own state, conscious 
they were not saved. The twilight was 
rapidly deepening when he asked those in 
such a case to rise to their feet in sign of 
their desire. The solemnity of feeling was 
indeed deep when from four to five hun- 
dred persons quietly rose all over the house, 
and as quietly resumed their places, ac- 
tuated, evidently, by something outside 
their ordinary lives. 

Was not that something like the Spirit 
of God ? We shall, perhaps, never know 
here ; but when from among the ranks of 
those who have felt His power we find men 
and women quietly affirming to friends and 
strangers the inner change which has been 
wrought in them, and then going out to 
work for Him; when we find this wide- 
spread, and representatives of all classes 
among the believers, have we any right 
further to question that God has been 
working, and will continue to work, in 
men's hearts powerfully ? Be the instru- 
ments who they may, are they not of God's 
choosing ? Some of his own servants may 
have been kept from joining in the work 
of promoting the awakening ; but now that 
the first instruments of this general awak- 



ening have left us, it must be, it is, the 
sacred duty of all the stated ministers in 
the field, to take up the work where it now 
stands, and to carry it on ; thankful and 
joyful in the fresh vigor infused into the 
spiritual life of many, and jealous only for 
the extension of the Master's kingdom. It 
is our duty now to consider whether, in 
much of our gospel teaching, we have not, 
by our own default, been beating the air, 
preaching above and beyond our hearers, 
clothing the simple lessons of God's Word 
in such conventional language as to be un- 
intelligible even to the educated ; how 
much more so to the illiterate. Laymen 
have become alive to the power they pos- 
sess when filled with love to the Master, to 
tell in plain language of a risen Redeemer, 
and to impress and convince their fellows, 
so that many have been forced to exclaim 
in wonderment when the central truth of 
the gospel has burst upon them, " Is this 
all ? is this the divine but simple truth I 
have missed for so many years ? Our 
teachers might have made this plain long 
ago." 

Blessed time when the mists are breaking, 
When men are awakening ! Ours be it to 
Help, not to hinder, God's harvest. 

A. S. D. C. 



THE WORK IN PAISLEY AND GREENOCK. 



MESSRS. MOODY AND SANKEY 
IN PAISLEY. 

The visit of these American evangel- 
ists to Paisley, long looked for, took place 
in April, and has been attended with 
great success. It was arranged that 
mid-day services should take place each 
day in the Oakshaw Street U. P. ChurcH, 
and at the service there on Wednesday 
evening Mr. Moody was present- The 
church was crowded to welcome him. 
Mr. Moody presided, and was supported 
by the Rev. Dr. Lees, of the Abbey, the 
Rev. Mr. France, the Rev. Dr. Thomson, 
and nearly every other minister in Pais- 
ley. After one of Mr. Sankey's hymns 
had been sung, prayer was offered up by 
Mr. Moody, who afterwards read the 5th 
chapter of St. Luke, and eloquently ex- 
pounded the gospel therein contained. 



Thereafter addresses were delivered on 
certain portions of the Scriptures, and 
prayers were offered up by the Rev. Dr. 
Thomson, and the Rev. Messrs. France, 
Hutton, Dodds, Crouch, and Sturrock. 
Other hymns from the collection used by 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey were sung, 
and the service closed with the benedic- 
tion. In the afternoon, the venerable 
Abbey was filled with a highly respect- 
able audience to hear a Bible lecture from 
Mr. Moody, and his devout manner of 
elucidating certain passages of Scripture 
seemed to impress his hearers in no or- 
dinary manner. In the evening Mr. 
Moody made a third appearance at the 
Free High Church, the largest church in 
Paisley, and there could not be fewer than 
two thousand people present. At the 
conclusion of the services, which were of 
a most impressive character, there remain- 



5 2 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



ed about one hundred persons, who ex- 
pressed their anxiety to inquire further 
into the Scriptures. 

On Thursday at mid-day Mr. Sankey 
was present at the Oakshaw Street U. P. 
Church, which was, if possible, even more 
crowded than on the previous day, the 
staircases and passages being filled. The 
Rev. Mr. Clazy presided, and was largely 
supported by ministers of various denom- 
inations. Mr. Sankey presided at the 
organ, and during a very beautiful service 
sang a number of his hymns, which were 
listened to with great attentiveness and 
reverence, and a large number of people 
appeared considerably moved by the pa- 
thetic rendering of such choice words. In 
the evening Mr. Sankey was at the Free 
High Church, which was again crowded 
long before the service. It was then an- 
nounced that another service would be 
held simultaneously in Free St. George's 
Church, and as soon as the church could 
be lighted and prepared, it was filled in 
every available space. Mr. Sankey divid- 
ed his attention between the two services, 
and sang several of his hymns to the great 
delight of the separate congregations. 

An esteemed brother, writing from Pais- 
ley on Tuesday, 14th inst., says : " For two 
months past, a daily prayer-meeting, twice a 
week evening evangelistic services, and a 
series of Sabbath evening services,have been 
held in Paisley, under the conduct of a com- 
mittee of the ministers of various denomi- 
nations, embracing the great majority of 
the ministers in town. The Sabbath 
evening joint services have been crowded 
by earnest audiences, and many of the 
other meetings have been largely attended. 
The visit of Messrs. Moody and Sankey, 
for three days last week, was the occasion 
of overflowing meetings and general stir 
in the community. On the night of Mr. 
Sankey's attendance, a second church was 
opened, which he visited, and a third 
might have been filled with the dissapoint- 
ed crowds. The addresses of Mr. Moody 
at the noon meetings, Bible lectures, even- 
ing services, and in the inquiry rooms, as 
well as Mr. Sankey's evangelistic singing 
and simple, heartfelt utterances, were at- 
tended by a large amount of visible im- 
pression. The inquiry, or after meetings, 
were scenes of great interest. On the 
three several nights, especially on the last 
of Mr. Moody's striking and earnest ap- 
peals, large numbers remained behind, 
many under strong emotion, desiring to 



be conversed with by Mr. Moody, the 
ministers, and other approved friends who 
stayed for this purpose. Several hundreds 
probably were conversed with from first to 
last individually, or in small private groups, 
over the great area of the Free High 
Church, where the meetings were held. 
Many of these professed, and seemed to 
have received light and quickening. In 
private life, and within the circle of private 
ministerial observation, not a few of these 
have been noted as the apparent subjects 
of important change. The interest seems 
to widen, and measures are being taken 
by the ministers to cope with the growing 
spirit of inquiry. One pleasing feature of 
the case is, the impression abroad among 
the young. Naturally there are criticisms 
and hesitancies with some as to the con- 
duct and tendency of the movement but 
these are neither numerous nor formidable. 
The marked approval of the fathers and 
leading ministers of the various denomina- 
tions, and their personal superintendence, 
and happy joint action at all meetings, 
combined with the unassuming manner 
and quiet earnestness of the American 
strangers, has prepossessed and assured 
the mind of the religious public. 

A new visit of Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey this week is likely to give fresh 
impetus to a good and great work, which, 
it must be the prayer of all who have 
closely witnessed it, nothing may arise to 
mar. 

Wednesday, April 15. — The former visit 
of Messrs. Moody and Sankey last week 
to Paisley, produced such a deep impres- 
sion that the evangelists were induced to 
return this week. On Tuesday Mr. Moody 
was present at the afternoon service in the 
Free High Church, and from the crowded 
attendance it was evident that the interest ■ 
had not in the least abated. As on the 
previous occasions, Mr. Moody was sup- 
ported by a large number of the ministers 
of various denominations in town, several 
of whom also took part in the service. In 
the evening another service was held in 
the same church, at which Mr. Moody was 
also present, and delivered, if possible, 
even a more forcible address than any of 
those he had previously given. The 
whole service seemed to result in awaken- 
ing an interest so manifest, that at its 
close there could not be fewer than be- 
tween 400 and 500 persons remaining to 
enter into conversation and inquiry with 
the evangelists. The good that has been 



PAISLEY AND GREENOCK. 



53 



done is apparent in many instances, and 
not a few who were prejudiced be- 
fore to the movement have readily come 
forward, and now support it with ail their 
power. It has been resolved to hold 
meetings each evening this week in Pais- 
ley, in addition to the mid-day services. 
On Sabbath Mr. Moody will return, 
and will devote nearly his whole time at 
services to be held in the town. It has 
been arranged that there shall be three 
special services. At nine o'clock in the 
morning he will meet with a number of 
young men in the Free High Church, and 
at other times in the day he will be pres- 
ent at Free St. George's Church, and at 
Oakshaw Street U. P. Church. 

Following up the return visit of Mr. 
Moody, Mr. Sankey was present at several 
services in Paisley on Wednesday. In the 
evening a service was held in the Free High 
Church, and overflow meetings in Free St. 
George's Church and Oakshaw Street U. 
P. Church. Mr. Sankey was present at 
each, and there were crowded congrega- 
tions. There is no doubt that the move- 
ment has made considerable progress in 
Paisley, and has awakened many to religion 
and study of the Scriptures who hitherto 
paid little regard for either. At the close 
of the meetings, on Wednesday, 15 th, 
large numbers of inquirers remained for 
conversation with the evangelist, and were 
in conference till a very late hour. A 
wish has been expressed that both Mr. 
Moody and Mr. Sankey might visit Pais- 
ley together, and it is believed that the re- 
sult would be an ample reward. 



VISIT OF MESSRS. MOODY AND 
SANKEY TO GREENOCK. 

Astonishing results have attended the 
visit of Messrs. Moody and Sankey to 
Greenock. At the usual mid-day prayer- 
meeting, the Town Hall has been quite 
crowded ; while at the evening evangelistic 
services, several churches have had to be 
opened to accommodate the overflow. At 
the close of all the services, numbers of 
anxious inquirers have remained to be 
spoken to, and a special corps of ministers 
has been told off for this branch of work. 
One night last week, no fewer than five 
hundred anxious ones remained. They 
were of all ages and both sexes, and the 
scene which was presented was affecting in 
the extreme. In a short time many were 



announcing that they had found peace, and 
others that they had received assur- 
ance of their conversion. One of the 
more noteworthy occasions on which Mr. 
Moody has spoken in Greenock was a 
meeting for the study of the Bible. The 
audience consisted entirely of elders, Sab- 
bath-school teachers, and Christian work- 
ers. Mr. Moody took for his subject, 
" Heaven ;" and, in the course of his re- 
marks, he said it would be impious to doubt 
that all things were possible to God. God 
could convert souls to Himself in a mo- 
ment ; and once a man was converted, his 
name was written in the Lamb's book of 
life, and could never be effaced. At the 
same meeting, it was stated by a gentleman 
from Edinburgh that the work in that city 
was spreading to all classes, and that special 
prayer-meetings are now being held by the 
school-boys of Edinburgh. On Sabbath, 
1 2th inst, Messrs. Moody and Sankey 
were engaged at meetings all day. At 
nine in the morning they held a conference 
with Sabbath-school teachers ; immediately 
afterwards, the members of the Working 
Boys' and Girls' Religious Society, with 
their teachers, were addressed ; at eleven 
Mr. Moody gave a Bible reading in the 
Rev. Mr. Macrae's U. P. Church, Green- 
ock ; and in the evening, both Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey were present at a meet- 
ing in the Town Hall. 

Another valued correspondent writes : 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey's labors in 
Greenock have excited an amount of in- 
terest deeper and wider than any similar 
services have done in former years. In- 
deed, it may be said that no similar ser- 
vices have ever been held here. There is 
a specialty and uniqueness about these 
which distinguish them from all preceding 
efforts in the same direction. It is very 
observable that it is the regular church- 
going population which has been mainly, 
though not exclusively, affected. The 
class of anxious inquirers who have re- 
mained to be personally dealt with after 
the public meetings, has included many 
who have maintained a Christian profes- 
sion — in some cases for years — but who 
sorrowfully admit that they never till now 
realized the power of divine grace in their 
souls. Large numbers of all ages and at- 
tainments have professed anxiety, of whom 
the greater proportion belong to this class. 
Many of the younger members of Chris- 
tian families have been quickened to de- 
cision, and the additions to the formal 



54 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



membership of all the churches are nu- 
merous in consequence. In one or two 
instances ministers have found among the 
anxious inquirers members of their own 
flock, whom they had regarded as well es- 
tablished in Christ. Several very young 
children have been wonderfully moved; 
and among the Working Boys' and Girls' 
Society instances of apparent conversion 
are numerous. Ministers and members of 
all denominations have wrought, on the 
whole, harmoniously ; but it is to be re- 
gretted that here and there a spirit of ex- 
clusiveness has shown itself where it could 
hardly have been expected, and which, if 
it were encouraged, would do much to 
hinder the work, if not to arrest it alto- 
gether. 

Wednesday, April i$th. — At the earnest 
request of the committee for united prayer 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey made arrange- 
ments for revisiting Greenock this week. 
Mr. Sankey has been present at all the 
noon-day prayer-meetings in the Town 
Hall, and the attendance, though not 
nearly so large as during the first week of 
his visit, has been most encouraging. At 
the evening meetings in the same place the 
audiences have all along been very large, 



and great numbers have remained till the 
second meetings to be spoken to. On 
Wednesday, at the " sweet hour of prayer," 
Mr. Sankey said that on the previous 
evening the second meeting had been the 
most interesting of any that he had seen 
yet in this country. The large galleries oi 
the Town Hall were filled with anxious 
ones ; and, although they were eager for 
spiritual conversation^ solemn stillness was 
preserved along with the earnestness. As 
the work of the ministers progressed, num- 
bers of inquirers became convicted, and a 
great many announced with holy joy that 
they had found peace and been converted. 
Mr. Sankey, noticing that some of the 
audience were in mourning, read a touch- 
ing letter from the father of a young 
woman who had, only a short time pre- 
vious, accepted Christ. During the read- 
ing of the letter not a few were affected to 
tears. On Tuesday evening the Rev. Mr. 
Stewart, Ewing Place Church, Glasgow, 
presided, and conducted the services. He 
spoke of the work going on in Glasgow, 
and narrated several instances of conver- 
sion that had come under his own notice. 
A second meeting was held, to which 
about 1,200 persons remained. 



EDINB URGH, 



I. 

RETURN OF MESSRS. MOODY 
AND SANKEY TO EDINBURGH. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey paid a 
visit to Edinburgh in May, and continued 
for three days. On Tuesday Mr. Moody 
appeared at the daily prayer-meeting, but 
as he was not generally expected, there 
were not above two hundred more than 
the ordinary attendance present, and the 
Free Assembly Hall was not above one- 
half filled. But in the evening the hall 
was crowded to excess in every part. The 
Moderator's gallery was reserved for min- 
isters, of whom a large number were pres- 
ent. There were amongst these many 
who had come from remote districts of the 
country to be present at the Assembly 
meetings, and whose keen and special in- 
terest in the proceedings was very evident. 
While the congregation awaited the arrival 
of Messrs. Moody and Sankey, devotional 



exercises were conducted by several of 
the ministers of the city. Mr. Moody, 
on entering the hall, reminded the meet- 
ing that, when he left Edinburgh two 
months ago, he requested the prayers of 
the converts here that a blessing might rest 
on the work they were going to engage in 
at Dundee, Glasgow, and other towns ; and 
as these prayers had been abundantly an- 
swered, he asked them to join with him in 
thanksgiving. Thanks for this were ac- 
cordingly offered up, and a hymn, " He 
leads us," having been sung, Mr. Moody 
delivered an address on the words of en- 
couragement frequently found in the Scrip- 
tures addressed to God's people — "Fear 
not." The lecture was enforced by frequent 
reference to Scriptures. The impression 
was also deepened by hymns sung by Mr. 
Sankey. 

At the close, Dr. Andrew Thomson, the 
Moderator of the United Presbyterian 
Synod, made an earnest appeal in the 



EDINBURGH. 



55 



name of the churches, the missionary so- 
cieties, and the perishing heathen, to the 
young men present to recruit the ranks of 
the ministry at home and abroad. They 
would never, he said, rue the day they laid 
themselves on Christ's altar. He spoke to 
them in the name of ministers of every de- 
nomination seated round the platform, and 
also in the name of the honored evangelist 
who presided. They had found it, he 
assured the meeting, a blessed thing to 
preach the gospel. None of them would 
like to change places with a king, a peer, 
or a judge on the bench, or to give up their 
ministry for all the world. No true con- 
vert, who had ever put his hand to the 
plough, had desired to look back. Theirs 
was the noblest, the happiest, the most 
blessed life that a man could spend on 
earth. 

Mr. Moody advocated the adoption of 
a shorter course of study for young con- 
verts who were willing to devote themselves 
to evangelistic and missionary labor. He 
believed hundreds and thousands of young 
men and women in America and this coun- 
try would come forward to work for the 
Lord if they were not kept back by the 
eight or ten years of study required. It 
was intimated that all the young men dis- 
posed to respond to the appeal made by 
Dr. Thomson should, after time for prayer 
and consideration, have an opportunity 
next Monday evening of offering themselves 
for the work of the ministry or of missions. 
The meeting was then closed. 

Wednesday, May 20th. — The daily 
prayer-meeting was densely crowed to- 
day. The body of the hall was reserved 
for ministers till eleven o'clock, but the 
most of those who had been in town 
had left, and others had not come, for 
very few appeared ; and it was marvelous 
with what a rush the body of the hall was 
taken possession of at eleven o'clock, 
when the people who were waiting out- 
side were allowed to come in. Shortly 
after eleven Mr. Sankey appeared, and led 
the congregation in the singing of some 
new hymns. The requests were then 
read, and the Rev. Knox Talon prayed. 
" Safe in the arms of Jesus " was then 
sung; and Mr. Moody called the atten- 
tion of the people to the 22d, 23d, and 
24th Psalms, reading portions of them. 

This meeting ended at one o'clock, 
many of the audience having been in the 
hall since about ten o'clock ; and they 
seemed to adjourn nearly en masse, and 



take possession of Free St. Luke's, where 
Mr. Moody was announced to lecture at 
three o'clock, for before two o'clock that 
large church was crowded, even to the 
third gallery, with an audience of not 
much fewer than 2,000. The singing of 
favorite hymns went on for an hour, then 
Mr. Sankey sang the following hymn as a 
solo : 

Nothing but leaves ! The Spirit grieves 

Over a wasted life ; 
O'er sins indulged while conscience slept 
O'er vows and promises unkept : 

And reaps from years of strife — 
Nothing but leaves ! Nothing but leaves ! 

Nothing but leaves ! No gathered sheaves 

Of life's fair ripening grain : 
We sow our seeds; lo, tares and weeds, 
Words, idle words for earnest deeds, 

We reap with toil and pain, — 
Nothing but leaves! Nothing but leaves ! 

Nothing but leaves ! Sad memory weaves 

No veil to hide the past : 
And as we trace our weary way, 
Counting each lost and misspent day 

Sadly we find at last — 
Nothing but leaves! Nothing but leaves! 

Ah, who shall thus the Master meet, 

Bearing but withered leaves ? 
Ah, who shall at the Saviour's feet, 
Before the awful judgment-seat, 

Lay down for golden sheaves, 
Nothing but leaves ! Nothing but leaves ! 

Mr. Moody announced as his subject 
The Two Adams, and showed that we are 
either in the first or last Adam. The ad- 
dress was an exceedingly thoughtful and 
comprehensive one. 



II. 

THE PRAISE MEETING. 

The Assembly Hall seemed to be taken 
possession of by much the same audience 
as soon as the doors were opened, and 
hundreds were disappointed of getting in, 
and were addressed in the College Quad- 
rangle and the Free High Church. We 
do not think we have ever seen the Free 
Assembly Hall so densely crowded. The 
meeting, which was a short one, was com- 
menced by Mr. Moody reading portions 
of the last few Psalms from the 145-50, 
and giving brief and appropriate com- 
ments on them. He also read 2 Chron. 
v. ; Ezek. v. 11 ; 2 Chron. xx. 21 ; Acts 
xvi. 25 ; Jer. xv. 9. 

Dr. Bonar quoted 1 Peter i. 3, " Blessed 
be the God and Father," etc. He said 



S« 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 






the very essence of praise was, as the 
word blessed literally meant, speaking well 
of God ; and the best way to praise Him 
was to speak well of Christ, to testify the 
Gospel of the grace of God. 

Rev. Robert Howie, of Glasgow, then 
addressed the meeting, and showed that 
we have to praise God for what He has 
given, and for what He is ; but that it is 
a higher thing to praise God for what He 
is than for His gifts ; and if we saw more 
of God we should praise Him more. If I 
may be permitted to speak in the name of 
my brethren, I would say we owe more to 
God than you do here. We rejoiced to 
hear of the work here, and longed that we 
might have similar blessings, but we have 
had more than we could have thought of. 
There were 3,500 converts at the farewell 
meeting, but that does not represent above 
one-third of those we know have been 
converted. And on the last Sabbath, 
about 20,000 assembled and were address- 
ed in the open air, and four or five thou- 
sand went into the Crystal Palace, and 
about two thousand of them rose up, ask- 
ing to be prayed for — seeking the Saviour. 
I have to give special thanks — first, for a 
praying mother ; then my own conver- 
sion, and for being in the ministry in 
times like these. We have had a great 
work of grace. 

There have been great meetings in ship- 
building yards, containing thousands of 
men. Messrs. Moody and Sankey went 
and had a meeting, and 1,000 men came. 
We believe that 10,000 have been con- 
verted in Glasgow since the year began ; 
but what are these among so many, when 
our population consists of 600,000 ? There 
was one remark Mr. Moody made that he 
never allowed a day to pass without speak- 
ing to some one about the soul's salvation. 
If each one of the thousands of saved 
ones would do this, how many would be 
saved ! Let this be the continual expres- 
sion of our praise. 

Rev. Mr. Mair, of Morningside, said he 
had been fifteen years a minister, and he 
had to praise God that this past blessed 
Winter and Spring had been the best 
time in the course of his ministry. If he 
had had ^1,000 given him for his mis- 
sions and church-work, he would have 
thanked the donor, and thought much of 
the gift ; how much more thankful should 
we be to God, who had, week after week, 
been giving precious souls ? Last com- 
munion was a time when the new power 



was experienced, when from sixty to one 
hundred were added to the Church. It 
was a real communion, for souls were 
feeling really joined to the Lord. 

A minister from the country gave thanks 
for blessing to himself and the district 
where he labored. He said we had no 
idea of the depth and extent of the work 
in the country. 

Rev. John Duke, of Dundee, thanked 
God for a plenteous rain in Dundee in 
connection with the visit of the American 
brethren. About 400 had been converted, 
and they were going on well. They were 
working also in giving tracts, teaching in 
Sunday-schools, helping evangelists by 
singing in the streets. He had had a young 
communicants' class, the like of which he 
had not had for six years. 

Rev. John Morgan praised the Lord 
for his own conversion ; for putting him 
into the ministry in times like these, and 
in circumstances such as he had had. 
During the eight years of his ministry, he 
had admitted 2,500 to the fellowship of 
the Church. And more especially would 
he praise God for the privilege of being 
in the work going on in this city last Win- 
ter and Spring. 

Rev. John Kelman praised God for 
many blessings. He mentioned one cause 
for praise, that there had been such good 
weather during the visit of their American 
brethren to Edinburgh : only four days 
had been foul. 

Rev. James Robertson, of Newington, 
said : They had truly been getting of late 
into the rapids of the stream that makes 
glad the city of God. Often in early 
days he had, after awakening sermons, 
watched for his minister at the corners 
of the streets, eagerly wishing for some 
opportunity of speaking with him. He 
believed there were many such in all con- 
gregations — their hearts longing even to 
bursting with concern about salvation. 
It would be to such like cold water to 
the thirsty to have special invitation 
every Sabbath-day to meet with their 
minister alone. On a Monday morning 
he had been visiting a dying father in 
the ministry, who asked, " What were 
you preaching on yesterday ? " "I 
preached a whole sermon to the uncon- 
verted." "Oh," said he, "preach many, 
many whole sermons to the unconverted. 
I would often do that if I had my work to 
begin again. We are far too ready to take 
for granted that people know the way to 



EDINBURGH. 



57 



be saved." In his last moments, another 
saint was heard whispering, " Bring, bring." 
One article was brought after another, but 
the waving of his hand showed that none 
of them was what he meant. Then at 
length, with a great effort, he uttered : 

" Bring forth the royal diadem, 
And crown Him Lord of all ? 

Mr. Sankey then sang a hymn of the 
lost sheep found, and the meeting was 
closed with the doxology. 



III. 
NOON PRAYER-MEETING. 

Thursday, 21st. — The daily prayer-meet- 
ing was held to-day in Free St. John's 
Church on account of the meeting of the 
Assembly in the New Assembly Hall. The 
hour was eleven o'clock. At the hour Mr. 
Moody entered and asked the meeting to 
join in singing the 46th Psalm, — 

" God is our refuge and our strength, 
In straits a present aid ; 
Therefore, although the earth remove, 
We will not be afraid." 

Mr. Moody then led in prayer, asking 
for special blessing on Edinburgh, on the 
Assemblies convening on that day, on 
deputations of young men going out in 
the Lord's work, and very specially on the 
great meeting to be held in the Queen's 
Park at five o'clock. 

The subject for the day was, The thief 
on the cross, Luke xxiii. 39, etc. There is 
the conversion of all classes of people 
in the Bible — the rich and poor — the 
virtuous and the vicious, and the vilest 
of the vile ; this thief was one of this 
vile sort. There were several thoughts 
expressed regarding what converted the 
thief- Mr. Moody said it might be hear- 
ing Christ's prayer, " Father, forgive 
them." Rev. Mr. Morgan thought he may 
have had a praying mother, whose heart 
he broke, and she knew only when she 
went to heaven that her prayers had 
been answered. Mr. James Balfour said 
he had heard the Lord said, It is finished, 
for Christ died before the thieves. Mr. 
Moody drew some lessons from the dying 
thief, such as, (1.) The strength of his 
faith; (2.) That Christ is never in a po- 
sition in which He cannot hear prayer ; 
(3.) That salvation is distinct from all 
ordinances and works. He could neither 



be baptized nor have the Lord's Supper ; 
and He had nails through hands and 
feet, and could neither work for God nor 
run on His errands to carry blessing to 
others. He said he was struck with what 
Dr. A. Bonar had said in Glasgow — that 
he had asked his Bible-class to find ano- 
ther instance of a death-bed conversion, 
and they could not find one. We speak 
of this being the eleventh hour, but per- 
haps to the thief it was only the first, for 
it was likely the first time he had heard 
Christ. Let us now sing the 18th Hymn, 
which fits right into this subject, — 

" O bliss of the purified, bliss of the free ; 
I plunged in the crimson tide opened for me. 
O'er sin and uncleanness exulting I stand, 
And point to the print of the nails in His 

hands. 
O sing of His mighty love, mighty to save." 

The Rev. James Robertson referred to 
having visited in his cell a condemned 
man, who said, " Ah, sir, when I am gone 
nobody will remember me." Didn't the 
dying thief speak as if he fully knew that 
Jesus was going away to be the Intercessor 
for transgressors ? He could not say, " I 
have fought a good fight." Yet who sings 
more loudly or more gladly, " Salvation to 
the Lamb." He got not weapons to fight, 
but wings to fly. The last act of the Re- 
deemer's life was the saving of a soul. No 
other door into heaven but that which 
this thief went in by. " I would like to 
\xlovj you in heaven," said a friend to old 
John Newton on his death-bed. He re- 
plied, " Well, you will find me at the feet 
of the thief who was saved upon the cross. " 
It is a shame to be deep in debt on earth, 
but it will be our glory in heaven to be 
the deepest drowned in debt to " free grace 
and undying love." 

Rev. W, Bremner, of Glasgow, said the 
Jews wanted evidently to degrade Christ 
by having the two malefactors crucified 
with Him ; but Satan was outwitted, for 
the prey was taken from the mighty, and 
one of them was taken with Him to heav- 
en, to show His power to save even when 
on the very brink of hell. Are there not 
some here on the brink of hell ? To-day is 
your only opportunity as far as you know ; 
be saved now. 

Mr. Balfour referred to the ever memor- 
able watch-night, and how we prayed that 
many might be made " fishers of men " 
this year, and how wonderfully the Lord 
has heard our prayers. 



58 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



IV. 

GREAT FAREWELL EVANGELIS- 
TIC MEETING IN THE QUEEN'S 
PARK. 

On Thursday, 21st, at 5 o'clock, a great 
gathering assembled in a natural amphi- 
theatre on the way to St. Anthony's Well, 
in the Queen's Park, to hear the farewell 
singing of Mr. Sankey and the farewell 
preaching of Mr. Moody. It was the 
largest open-air meeting we have ever 
seen convened to hear the gospel. We 
took pains to get a fair estimate of the 
number present, and we came to the con- 
clusion that there were between ten 
and eleven thousand. There were 
never above ten thousand present at one 
time, for during the hour when the preach- 
ing was going on, hundreds came and 
hundreds went in the outskirts of the 
crowd. 

The audience was singing u Jesus loves 
me" as we came within hearing of the 
meeting, and from the number of voices 
joining in the singing, we concluded that 
the majority of those present had attended 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey's meetings. 
The Hundredth Psalm was then sung, 
and that was the only thing in which all 
the audience seemed to join — at least in 
the first verse — for they knew the tune. 
Then Rev. Mr. Grant read, at Mr. Moody's 
request, John iii., and Rev. Wm. Fraser 
prayed. We then had a hymn, and Mr. 
Moody preached " the gospel to ever crea- 
ture," and thoroughly illustrated it by 
striking anecdotes and incidents. His 
voice reached us outside, and we could 
follow him, but with the constant conver- 
sations — children playing and shouting, 
and a number of dog-fights, those not ac- 
customed to him averred that they lost 
some of his words, and were rather strain- 
ed in following him. It would have been 
a better arrangement if Mr. Moody's 
preaching had come on half an hour ear- 
lier. With such an immense audience the 
effect would have been greater had they 
been addressed sooner ; for the night be- 
ing rather cold, about a thousand persons 
left during the time he was preaching — 
especially of the outsiders : the very per- 
sons most needing the gospel. We trust 
that the Word was with power to many, 
for the preacher spoke plainly, earnestly, 
and faithfully, and gave an A B C gospel, 
so that all might understand. It was a 
solemn time. There was a mass of men, 



and women, and children, many of them 
unsaved, and needing to hear words of 
salvation, and they heard them. It was 
an impressive sight to see masses of hu- 
man beings hanging on or sitting on the 
shelves, and to all appearance in the 
clefts of the rocks behind the preacher, 
for it reminded us of the time when men 
and women will be crying to the rocks 
to fall on them and cover them from 
the face of Him who sitteth on the 
throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 
and the blessed contrast made us glad, 
for here was one standing on the rock 
beseeching sinners in Christ's stead to 
be reconciled to God. It was the day 
of grace, and not the day of wrath ! It 
was said in a newspaper that Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey were hustled and mob- 
bed, at the close, by ill-behaved people. 
This may have been, but we did not see 
it : it appeared to us rather that those 
who pressed upon Mr. Moody were loving 
friends wishing to bid him farewell, and 
he had to flee from them, which he did, 
and escaped to the carriage waiting on the 
Queen's Drive below, pursued by hun- 
dreds, all anxious to shake hands with 
him. Mr. Sankey, in following, had equal 
difficulty in getting away from the thou- 
sands that wished to have a last shake of 
his hand. The crowd of appreciating 
persons whom we saw at the side of the 
carriage were eager, loving friends : and 
we saw none of the other sort. There 
never was such a scene witnessed in Edin- 
burgh, or anywhere else, so far as we have 
ever heard. We believe it is an index of 
the feelings entertained for our excellent 
friends, and the token of genuine regard 
and Christian love for the blessing the 
Lord has made their labors in the gospel 
to many souls. 



V. 

HOW THE AWAKENING FOUND 

US. 

The minds of the ministers of Scotland 
were occupied for ten years with a pro- 
ject for the Union of the Churches. An 
outsider could see no sufficient reason why 
the non-established Churches there should 
remain apart when they were at one in 
doctrine, polity, and worship ; but after 
spending ten years of precious time in 
trying to have a union consummated, they 
failed, and negotiations for it were finally 



EDINBURGH. 



59 



broken off. All this time, their minds 
being so full of this union work, and of 
the controversies in connection with the 
prosecution of it, their proper work of 
seeking the salvation of the lost, and the 
growth in grace of the saved, had not been 
carried forward so vigorously as it might 
and should have been. The saving of 
sinners had nearly come to a stand-still ; 
and many were feeling the burden of souls, 
and imploring the Lord to send a spirit 
of awakening and revival, when Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey came to Edinburgh, 
and the blessing of God seemed to come 
with them, and to diffuse itself over the 
city and the country at large. We know 
that it was immediate, for it came into our 
own family the first night that Mr. Moody 
preached: and that it has continued and 
increased in power and volume, the late 
farewell meetings in Glasgow and Edin- 
burgh attest. The soil is now productive, 
and a breath of spring-tide freshness is in 
the air. Sinners in great numbers are 
coming to Christ, and associating with His 
people. 

And the Lord Himself has done this 
great work in such -a way as to hide 
pride from man. Who would ever have 
framed such a prayer as this, and pre- 
sented it at the throne of grace : " O 
Lord, in Thy great mercy send the two 
laymen called Moody and Sankey from 
the city of Chicago, to be the instru- 
ments in the revival of Thy work in the 
cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and 
throughout Scotland?" Any person who 
would have dared to pray in that fashion 
a year ago would have been deemed a 
lunatic ; for who had heard of such men ? 
And yet they are the men God has chiefly 
employed to accomplish the great work in 
which we this day rejoice. We were very 
much struck one day at hearing a Free 
Church minister thanking God publicly 
that He had sent those honored evangel- 
ists to do the great work they were doing, 
and thereby rebuke and humble ministers 
for not having put themselves into His 
hands to be used by Him in doing that 
work, but that strangers should have to be 
sent by Him to do it. And the union has 
come, too, in a higher way by the power 
of the Spirit ; but since this was written 
the Moderator of the Free Church Assem- 
bly has delivered his opening address, and 
he has struck the right key-note. Let us 
read what he has said, thank God, and 
take courage. 



VI. 

FREE CHURCH MODERATOR'S 
OPENING ADDRESS. 

The last third of Dr. Stewart's opening 
address was occupied with the present 
awakening. He spoke as follows : When 
differences of opinion and divisions arise 
among those who are honestly and ear- 
nestly seeking the good of His Church, the 
Great Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, often 
heals these divisions in a way they dream 
not of, and discovers " a more excellent 
way " for bringing about the end all have 
in view, viz. : His glory. 

We have had a very remarkable example 
of this in connection with our late troubles. 
At the very time when the proposal 
of an incorporating union with brethren 
of other churches seemed to be relegated 
to a far distant future — when an answer 
to the many prayers that " we all might be 
one, even as the Father and Son are one," 
seemed to be withheld — when pseudo- 
philosophers, with profane levity, were 
proposing a prayer gauge, to test the 
efficacy of prayer — the Lord manifested 
Himself as a faithful and a jealous God — 
jealous for His own glory and faithful to His 
promises — as the hearer and answerer of 
prayer, by pouring out a blessed and 
copious effusion of His Holy Spirit upon 
our land, whereby many have been con- 
verted and saved, and a deep and most 
solemn impression has been produced upon 
the minds of men of all ranks and degrees. 
The result of this blessed visitation has 
been the healing of breaches among beloved 
brethren, and the producing such union of 
heart and co-operation among the godly 
and earnest-minded laborers in all our 
churches as warrant the hope of union 
on a broader basis than we had dreamt 
of, when " the Spirit of the Lord shall 
lift up a standard " against Popery and in- 
fidelity," coming in like a flood," or when 
in some other way " God's set time to 
favor you " shall arrive. He has prom- 
ised that His people " shall see eye to eye 
when He turns again the captivity of His 
Zion," and meantime, " in brotherly love 
preferring one another," let us watch and 
pray for it, " more than they that watch 
for the morning." 

Permit me to say, as a comparative 
stranger, that of all the business trans- 
acted by the last General Assembly, that 
which affected and refreshed me most was 
the conferences regarding the state of re- 



6o 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



ligion throughout the country in general 
— the manifestations of spiritual life in the 
various congregations under your charge, 
and the measures adopted or recommend- 
ed for overtaking the spiritual destitution 
still, alas ! too prevalent throughout the 
land. It was a disappointment that more 
time could not then be spared for the con- 
sideration of subjects of such permanent 
interest, but I trust this year they may oc- 
cupy both more time and a more promi- 
nent place in our deliberations. 

It has pleased God to make use of two 
strangers from the other side of the Atlan- 
tic as the instruments through whom the 
spiritual awakening which has gladdened, 
and still is gladdening, many parts of 
Scotland, broke forth ; and readily and 
heartily, I am sure, we are ready to ren- 
der all due honor to beloved brethren 
whom the Lord Himself has honored — 
but, at the same time, we must not lose 
sight of the fact, that by these conferences 
in our Assemblies on the state of religion, 
by the deputations sent down to visit the 
various Presbyteries with the same object 
in view, and by increasing prayer and 
spiritual effort on the part of ministers, 
elders, deacons, and other godly laymen, 
the ground had already been prepared, 
the good seed had been copiously sown, 
and all that was wanting was that " God 
should give the increase." Blessed be the 
Lord our God, for He hath given the in- 
crease, and many of you, beloved breth- 
ren, who for many a year " went forth 
weeping, bearing your precious seed, have 
at last returned rejoicing, bringing your 
sheaves with you." 

One more remark, and I have done. 
Rev. fathers and brethren, there is still 
another aspect in which it seems to me 
we should regard the blessed work of 
the Holy Spirit, in awakening and re- 
viving the churches of our land at this 
time, and that is in the light of " a 
baptism with fire " ere times of trouble 
come, ere we are called " to contend 
earnestly for the faith once delivered to 
the saints." In looking back upon the 
history of the Church of Christ, we can 
trace many instances in which such " times 
of refreshing from the presence of the 
Lord " were the preludes to seasons of 
warfare and distress, of storm and tem- 
pest, when men's hearts were ready to fail 
them through fear, and many made ship- 
wreck of their faith. Surely this is one 
aspect in which we may regard the out- 



pouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of 
Pentecost, for scarcely had its blessed 
effects been felt, than persecution of the 
infant Church began. The outpouring of 
the Spirit and remarkable awakening that 
accompanied the great Reformation of the 
sixteenth century was at once the prelude 
to centuries of persecution and martyr- 
dom, and the preparation of God's people 
for u resisting unto blood, striving against 
sin." 

In the history of the Church of Scot- 
land this has been often verified. The 
revival of religion in Scotland, so affect- 
ingly described by the historian Kirkton, 
was the means God used to fortify the 
hearts of His people against the dragon- 
ades of the bloody Claverhouse. When 
infidelity, heresy, and moderatism were 
deluging the Church about the middle of 
last century, the Lord the Spirit raised up 
a standard against them, in the remark- 
able revival at the Kirk of Shotts, and 
generally throughout the West of Scot- 
land. And in later times, when the " ten 
years' conflict" had fairly begun, a new 
baptism of fire was given to our Church 
in the revivals at Kilsyth, Dundee, and 
many places in the North, to prepare 
men's hearts for the Disruption with all its 
trials and sacrifices, its astounding liberal- 
ities, and its ultimate triumph. 

If we take into account the state of so- 
ciety in Britain at the present day — the 
growth of libertinism, communism, and 
infidelity — the influx of Jesuits into it un- 
opposed — the rapidity with which Popery 
is again acquiring the mastery in the 
Church of England under the name of 
ritualism, and the supineness with which 
good men within her pale regard the 
humiliating spectacle — we have not to 
look far for a field of elements of trouble 
and danger to all the churches of our 
land ; for these two enemies, Popery and 
infidelity, however divergent the ends they 
aim at, will act together as faithful allies 
in the endeavor to crush out vital religion. 
With such conflict in prospect — conflict 
in which, if we would be faithful to our 
Lord and Master, and keep carefully the 
sheep of His pasture, we must needs take 
our part — we ought with gratitude to rec- 
ognize in the present effusion of the Holy 
Spirit a similar preparation vouchsafed to 
us against the day of trouble, and to con- 
sider seriously what attitude it becomes 
us as a Church to assume in defence of 
the gospel. 



THE WORK ELSEWHERE IN SCOTLAND. 



61 



" Finally, my brethren, be strong in the 
Lord, and in the power of His might." 



VII. 

DR. THOMSON'S CLOSING AD- 
DRESS. 

The Rev. Dr. A. Thomson, as Modera- 
tor of the United Presbyterian Synod, said 
in his closing address : " There is no part 
of the Synod's proceedings that has been 
so interesting alike to yourselves and to 
the Christian public as the conference on 
the great religious revival and on evangel- 
istic work. While some brethren were 
perplexed by honest difficulties which ex- 
planation removed, and while on the part 
of none of us was there any disposition 
shown to give a blind and unqualified ap- 
proval to everything that had been done or 
spoken, there was soon manifested a uni- 
versal readiness to acknowledge in the 
present awakening a blessed reality, and 
to own in it with adoring gratitude the 
work of the Holy Spirit. There was a 



tone of glad and solemn interest, an eager- 
ness for information and for practical sug- 
gestions,andan earnest desire that the bless- 
ing might spread like a vestal fire over the 
land. The hearts of the brethren beat 
warmly and in unison. The extensive and 
thorough nature of the measures recom- 
mended by the Synod in the sending of 
deputations to Presbyteries, the issuing of 
a pastoral address, and the exhortation to 
every minister and session to seek revival 
in themselves and in their flock, and then 
to make their churches the centres of an 
earnest evangelism to the regions around 
them, proves how much the Synod had 
become of one heart and one soul in this 
mighty movement. If the injunctions of 
the Synod are carried out with prayerful 
and persevering energy in all our congre- 
gations — from Shetland to the Mull of 
Galloway, and from Berwick to Brighton — 
it will be a blessed year for our Church, 
many a full net will be brought to land, 
and long before another Synod, the cry 
will have gone up from many a congrega- 
tion, "And now, O Lord, we thank and 
praise Thy glorious name." 



THE WORK ELSEWHERE IN SCOTLAND. 



At Dunbarton, that busy ship-build- 
ing town, Mr. Moody preached in the 
South Church twice and gave a Bible lec- 
ture at the Free Church ; on the 24th of 
May he and Mr. Sankey were at Kilmar- 
nock, when many from neighboring towns 
and parishes were drawn together. On 
that day three meetings were held. The 
first was specially designed for workers; 
while in the case of the other two, the 
numbers proved so great, that after the 
Low Church was filled with its thousands, 
it was found necessary to open King Street 
U. P. Church, which was also speedily 
filled. The meetings in the Low Church 
were conducted by Mr. Moody, and those 
in King Street by the ministers of the 
town and a few others, while Mr. Sankey 
went between the places, and took part in 
all the meetings. 

On Monday the evangelists proceeded 
to Saltcoats. A meeting was held in the 
afternoon in the Parish Church, which was 
densely crowded, and crowds again assem- 
bled in the evening in it and the North 



Church. On Tuesday at noon a meeting 
was held in Irvine Established Church. 

Although there was less than a day to 
make the necessary preparations, yet at 
the hour the large building was filled. Mr. 
Moody preached most powerfully and im- 
pressively from Mark xvi. 15, 16, and Mr. 
Sankey sang one of his most eloquent 
appeals. A well-attended meeting was 
held in the evening in the Relief Church, 
and was conducted by the ministers of the 
town. The brethren. could not wait to at- 
tend this meeting, as arrangements had 
been made for their presence in Ayr. Long 
before four o'clock, the Old Church there 
was crowded to overflowing. Meetings 
were also held in the evening, at eight 
o'clock, in the Old Church, and in Cath- 
cart Street U. P. Church. It will thus be 
seen that Ayrshire has shared with other 
places largely, though in a brief time. I 
am content that results should tell the 
power, and yet as an eye-witness to the 
meetings in Kilmarnock, Saltcoats, and 
Irvine, I cannot refrain from testifying to 



62 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



the expectancy and solemnity that per- 
vaded the large gatherings, and the deep 
interest and attention manifested. 



PERTH. 



" Good unto all men is the Lord, 
O'er all His works His mercy is." 

We, in Perth, have found it true. It 
was last Winter when the Christmas fogs 
were round us that we heard once more 
" tidings of great joy." The power of the 
Lord was present in Edinburgh, and the 
men with whom the right hand of the 
Lord was working were expected in our 
city. 

Often during the years since the Revival 
of i860, the prayer had gone up that the 
Spirit of quickening might be poured out 
on Perth, and now we thought the Lord 
will answer these prayers — our prayers, 
the prayers of the strangers who have 
been amongst us, and the prayers of our 
departed ones. But God's " due season " 
had not come. 

Noon-day prayer-meetings and evangel- 
istic meetings were commenced, and we 
looked from week to week for the presence 
of Mr. Moody and Sankey in our midst. 
For twenty weeks the noon-day meetings 
were continued, and God gave many drops 
of blessing during that time. There was 
a cheering work amongst the children. 
Professor Martin, from Aberdeen, held 
meetings for five weeks, and in these meet- 
ings many little ones gave their hearts to 
Jesus. 

The Professor left us, and it was resolv- 
ed to make, for one month, a strenuous 
effort to win the older people to Christ by 
holding evangelistic services every night 
in the week, Saturday excepted. During 
that month Messrs. Moody and Sankey 
have come — and we lift our hearts to God 
and are glad that He has chosen His own 
time for sending them, and that He has 
sent His blessing with them now. 

Mr. Sankey came amongst us on Friday, 
the 29th of May. There was a meeting in 
the evening, at which Dr. Black, of Inver- 
ness, and Mr. Robertson addressed the 
people, and for the first time in Perth, we 
heard that night Mr. Sankey's new song. 

On Sunday morning a meeting was held 
for " Christian Workers, and those disposed 
to work," when the City Hall was crowded. 
Earnestly and thrillingly Mr. Moody spoke, 
and when Mr. Sankey sang " Go work in 



my vineyard," that large congregation lis- 
tened with glistening eyes, and hearts 
kindled anew in love to Jesus and a desire 
to work more diligently for Him who suf- 
fered so much for us. 

In the evening there were meetings on 
the South Inch (at which between 4,000 
and 5,000 people were present), and in the 
City Hall, with overflow meetings in two 
churches. If it were the spirit of curiosity 
which prompted such multitudes to stand 
about for hours until they could get into 
a church, we must thank God that He has 
brought good even out of this evil. 

Mr. Moody has held the usual course of 
meetings every day. Noon-day meeting 
in the City Hall, Bible-reading in the 
Free West Church, and evening meeting 
in the North United Presbyterian Church. 
The number of inquirers has been very 
great, and many, very many, have found 
peace. It has been a quiet, strong tide of 
blessing ; it is as if God had sent His ser- 
vants to unlock the flood-gates of His 
grace, and the water of life has swept out 
in deep and steady currents, leaving no 
place for the breaking waves of excite- 
ment and mere feeling. Especially is this 
to be noticed in the Bible-readings, when 
from day to day the large church in which 
Mr. Moody lectures, is crowded with 
people reverently and simply studying 
God's Word. 

Besides the above meetings, there has 
been an overflow meeting in the City Hall 
each night, at which many have been 
blessed. And in the Free West Church 
there is a meeting for children. There is 
an inquiry-meeting after, from which many 
little ones go out trusting intelligently and 
heartily in Jesus, and eager to bring others 
to Him. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey remained at 
Perth until the 7th of June, where on the 
evening of that day Mr. Moody preached 
to a congregation of not less than 7,000 
souls. The following Tuesday the evan- 
gelists paid another visit to 

DUNDEE. 

On Tuesday night two churches* were 
thrown open, but so great were the crowds 
seeking admission that it was found neces- 
sary to adjourn to the Barrack Park, where 
an immense number of persons of all 
classes speedily assembled. The sight of 
so many persons hurrying along the streets 
from the churches to the park had the ef- 
fect of arousing the curiosity of many 



ABERDEEN. 



63 



more, who also hastened to the meeting. 
It was pleasing to see so many in their 
working clothes, mechanics and others ; 
women carrying their children in their 
arms — in short, many from the humblest 
ranks of life ; and Mr. Moody preached 
with his usual pathos and force. At the 
close of the service, meetings for inquirers 
were held, 

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 
nights open-air meetings were held in the 
same place. On each successive night the 
interest and solemnity seemed to grow 
more intense. The attendance was very 
large, the numbers being variously esti- 
mated at from 10,000 to 16,000 souls. 
Nothing could surpass the decorum of the 
vast assemblage. There was no sensation- 
alism in the service, and no frothy excite- 
ment in the audience. One striking fea- 
ture in, the composition of the gathering 
was the unusually large proportion of men~ 
shrewd,hard-headed, strong-minded men — 
a class not to be put off their feet by any 
mere sensationalism. And yet we saw 
the eyes of hundreds of these horny- 
handed sons of toil suffused with tears, 
under the word of God, which was preached 
with unaffected simplicity. One result of 
these open-air services has been, that a 
greatly increased number of men have 
come forward, asking the question, " What 
must we do to be saved ?" 

On the nights of Thursday and Friday, 
an inquirers' meeting for men only was 
held in Ward Chapel ; and so encouraging 
has been the immediate outcome in the 
number of the anxious, that at Mr. Moody's 
suggestion special evangelistic services for 
men are to be carried on nightly for the 
next fortnight. A large staff of male 
Christian workers have promised to assist 
in carrying on this special effort. 

On the afternoons of Wednesday and 
Thursday, Mr. Moody held a Bible-read- 
ing in Free St. Paul's, which was so 
crowded on the second day that it was 
deemed necessary to hold the meeting on 
Friday in Kinnaird Hall. Long before 
the hour of meeting this spacious room was 
crowded even to excess. 

On Friday night a meeting was held in 
Chapelshade of those who have recently 
professed faith in Christ. There was a 
large attendance. The young disciples 
were suitably counseled and affectionately 
admonished by Mr. Sankey, who presided 
at the service. 

On Saturday Messrs. Moody and Sankey 



left for Aberdeen. This second visit has 
been much appreciated, and has given a 
fresh impulse to the work. It has also 
served to make it abundantly evident that 
the work of grace has been going on qui- 
etly and steadily in this town and neigh- 
borhood during recent months. The ordi- 
nary channels of worship and work are full 
of the river of God — in some cases, in- 
deed, full to overflowing. The pulse of 
Christian life in this city is beating more 
strongly and healthfully than it has done 
for many a day. It is now plain enough 
that the blessing will be largely permanent 
and abundantly productive. A thousand 
earnest souls are longing and praying for 
greater and still greater things. The im- 
petus given to Christian work in all its de- 
partments can scarcely be over-estimated. 
This is especially true in regard to work 
among the young. 



ABERDEEN. 



Here the work was commenced on 
Sabbath, the 14th of June, with a nine 
o'clock meeting for Christian workers, ad- 
mission by ticket. There were 3,000 
issued, and the Music Hall was quite filled, 
every available place being occupied, either 
sitting or standing. Mr. Moody, after 
reading a small portion of the Scriptures, 
spoke for about three-quarters of an hour 
from the text, " Here am I ; send me." 
Mr. Sankey, assisted by a most efficient 
choir of male and female voices, effectively 
rendered several hymns, among which the 
principal were, " Hark, the voice of Jesus 
calling," " Go, work in my vineyard," and 
" Nothing but leaves." The meeting was 
a most solemn one, and the audience most 
attentive. 

The evening meeting, at 5 p. m., was on 
the Links, in the natural amphitheatre of 
the Broadhill, where a platform had been 
erected for choir and speakers. It was 
here that the deep interest in these gentle- 
men — arising, of course, from mixed feel- 
ings of curiosity, or desire to know more 
of that better way of which they speak — 
showed itself. One may be allowed to say 
that the town was moved to come, and see, 
and hear. Some 10,000 were in position 
before and around the platform long be- 
fore the hour of meeting ; and yet from 
before five till past six there were continu- 
ous streams of men, women, and children 
from the city, Footdee, Woodside, Old 



64 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



Aberdeen, and as far as Dyce, flowing to 
the one point on the Broadhill, There 
could not have been fewer than 20,000 to 
22,000 on the Links that evening. Mr. 
Moody spoke from the words, " The wages 
'of sin is death," and was listened to with 
rapt attention, while the hymns were dis- 
tinctly heard over the vast crowds in the 
stillness of a quiet summer evening. 

The next meeting was announced for 
eight, in the Music Hall, but it being fill- 
ed before seven, Mr. Moody began at that 
hour, speaking on the subject of the prod- 
igal son. There was much power. The 
chief hymns were, " Jesus of Nazareth," 
" Come home," and "Almost persuaded." 
There were many inquirers. The crowd 
outside was very great, and Free West 
Trinity and the Baptist Chapel, Crown 
Street, had to be opened, and were more 
or less filled ; while several ministers con- 
ducted an open-air service in one of the 
squares. We have never at any time, I 
may say, seen the city so moved as it was 
this day. 

On Monday a meeting was held in the 
South Parish Church, with a prayer-meet- 
ing at 3 p. m. Amongst the audience there 
were between twenty and thirty ministers 
of various denominations. In the evening 
a meeting was held in the South Parish 
Church. 

Two hours before the time announced 
for commencing the meeting in the South 
Parish Church, a crowd had gathered at 
the door, and no sooner was admission 
gained than every seat and corner of the 
large church began to be rapidly filled. 
It was soon seen that the numbers waiting 
outside could not gain admission into the 
church, and provision was immediately 
made for having an open-air meeting in 
the quadrangle of Marischal College. Mr. 
Moody and Mr. Sankey arrived about half- 
past seven, and prayer having been led, 
Mr. Sankey sang the already well-known 
hymn, " Hold the Fort," the choir and the 
audience joining heartily in the chorus. 
Mr. Moody read a portion of tenth chap- 
ter of Luke, the story of the good Samari- 
tan, and in a few sentences drew a vivid 
resemblance between it and the mission 
of Christ to wounded sinners. The read- 
ing was followed by the singing of a hymn 
by Mr. Sankey. " The Lost Sheep " was 
the subject of the hymn, and it was ren- 
dered in such a peculiarly appropriate 
style that the visible effect on the audience 
was something remarkable. 



A short supplication for a blessing on 
the meeting was offered by Mr. Moody, 
who then said he would call their atten- 
tion for a short time to the text in the 
second chapter of Luke, " Behold I bring 
you glad tidings of great joy, which shall 
be to all people, for unto you is born this 
day a Saviour." 

Mr. Moody only spoke for about twenty 
minutes, and by this time Mr. Sankey and 
a portion of the choir had gone to the 
quadrangle, where there was a consider- 
able gathering. A verse of a psalm was 
sung in the church, and Mr. Moody pro- 
ceeded to the open-air meeting, the entire 
congregation following him. By the time 
he got on the platform between 4,000 and 
5,000 had gathered in the square. 

No sooner was the concourse of people 
comparatively quiet than Mr. Moody 
wished to hear them all sing the 100th 
Psalm, after which he began to speak from 
the text in Mark xvi., " Go ye into all the 
world and preach the gospel to every 
creature." The audience before him was 
of a much more miscellaneous nature than 
any of his previous ones, a goodly number 
having been drawn apparently from the 
Guestrow and Gallowgate, to whom Mr. 
Moody directed his special attention, ad- 
dressing them with a ready familiarity. 
He expressed himself greatly pleased with 
the character of the meeting; he liked 
open-air meetings on week days, because 
all kinds of people could come to them, 
while no doubt a good many came all eyes 
and mouths open for curiosity's sake. The 
text he had chosen was an open-air one, 
and commanded them to preach the gospel 
to every creature, and in a few sentences 
he pointed out how comprehensive was 
this injunction of the Saviour's. Through- 
out both his evening discourses, Mr. Moody 
showed a wonderful fitness for adapting 
the circumstances around him to illustrate 
his meaning, thereby giving a kind of per- 
sonal interest to what he was saying. His 
address lasted about the same time as the 
one in church, and at its conclusion he 
intimated that a prayer-meeting would be 
held in the Free High Church for about 
half an hour. While this meeting was go- 
ing on, those who desired private conver- 
sation retired to the hall below. 

The prayer-meeting was continued in 
the church by several clergymen, and did 
not break up until after ten o'clock ; the 
inquirers' meeting lasted a good time 
longer. 



FORFARSHIRE— TAIN. 



H 



FORFARSHIRE. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey continued 
their labors for two weeks in Aberdeen, 
and from thence paid a flying visit, all 
they could find time for, to Montrose, 
Brechin, Forfar, and Arbroath. In each 
place all their meetings were densely 
crowded, although they were, for the most 
part, held in the very large Parish Churches. 
At Montrose, as in all the other towns, the 
earnest ministers and Christian people of 
the place had been making many prayer- 
ful efforts to awaken special interest in 
divine things in this time of blessing. 

In Brechin next day they held two 
meetings, which none of us who had the 
joy of being present at them can ever for- 
get. Both Mr. Moody and Mr. Sankey 
seemed to be peculiarly happy and at 
home in this town, and to speak and sing 
with even more than their wonted tender- 
ness* and power. We had hoped for an 
open-air meeting, both here and in Ar- 
broath, but Mr. Moody felt unequal to 
that effort, having hurt his voice in one of 
our northern mists. 

The second meeting was at half-past 
two, in the Parish Church, which could not 
nearly hold all who would fain have heard 
the strangers. The schools of the town 
had a half-holiday, that masters and pupils 
might be present, and all the factory work- 
ers who chose were also given leave of 
absence to attend the meeting. Many of 
these last were present in their working 
clothes, and bareheaded. Two of the 
ministers led in prayer. One prayer was 
specially on behalf of Lord Dalhousie, 
since deceased, who lay very ill almost 
under the shadow of the ancient church, 
where more than 2,000 lifted up their 
hearts on his behalf. 

Mr. Moody preached for an hour with 
great power on the words, " Ye must be 
born again ;" and after this meeting Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey hurried off to Forfar, 
where they addressed another large gath- 
ering, called together on a few hours' no- 
tice, in the very large Parish Church of 
that town. 

Next day, Thursday, July 2d, our Ameri- 
can friends proceeded to Arbroath, with 
their usual unflagging energy, and I had 
the privilege of being again with them. 
They addressed two meetings, which were 
both held in the Parish Church, as the 
largest place to be had. Mr. Moody's 
state of voice prevented him speaking in a 



third meeting, or in the open air, as had 
been expected. As usual, very many were 
disappointed of admission, for want of 
room ; and many more, as I know, from 
the country district round, did not attempt 
to be present, knowing that others would 
be _ filling the church before they could 
arrive. 

At the evening meeting the church was 
even more crowded, and the audience in- 
cluded a great many working people. Mr. 
Moody preached on " The Son of Man is 
come to seek and to save that which was 
lost," and the present writer never heard 
him tell the message of divine love with 
greater tenderness or power. He after- 
wards invited inquirers to meet him in a 
United Presbyterian Church not far off; 
and about 100, including about 40 chil- 
dren, did so. Both then and since there 
have been many proofs that the Holy 
Spirit of the Lord is at work in Arbroath. 

Evangelistic services have been held 
every night since^ Mr. Moody's visit to the 
town, and a considerable amount of religi- 
ous interest has been evinced at these. 
We trust much prayer will be offered up 
by God's people for yet greater things to 
be seen among us in this district. 



TAIN. 

On Monday, July 13th, Mr. Moody 
preached to a very large audience in the 
Free Church at half-past one on Monday. 
Five o'clock was the hour appointed for 
the open-air meeting, and this picturesque 
town presented an aspect never to be for- 
gotten. The special trains have just ar- 
rived ; the steep way from the station is 
thronged ; vehicles of all descriptions ap- 
proach by the various avenues into the 
town ; and as we move forward to the 
Academy Park, the whole population 
seems astir, moved in one direction, 
drawn by one impulse. The service pro- 
ceeds. Mr. Sankey sings the solo, "The 
Lost Sheep," accompanying himself on 
the American organ. Every eye is fixed ; 
and as the stirring, earnest statements and 
appeals of Mr. Moody follow,, the gaze of 
curiosity is changed into the intense ear- 
nestness of personal interest. It is the old 
gospel, yet some there feel it as they nevei 
felt it before. It is estimated that from 
4,000 to 5,000 were present at this meeting. 

At seven the Free Church, capable of 
containing upwards, of 2,oqq,. was- densely 



66 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



crowded, many having to leave for want 
of room. About half-past eight the bene- 
diction was pronounced, after a most 
solemn service, and Mr. Moody requested 
as many believers, and persons knowing 
that they were yet unconverted, but who 
wished to find Christ, as could remain, to 
do so, while others left. 

While a hymn was being sung, those 
who had to leave did so ; others gathered 
into the area of the church, and the doors 
were shut. There were some moments of 
silent prayer, and then, amid deep still- 
ness, Mr. Moody said, " We are all friends 
here, and I would just request those who 
believe that they received Christ to-day, 
and those who desire to receive Him now, 
to stand up, that we may pray for them." 
For more than a minute all was still ; then 
Mr. Moody said slowly as one after ano- 
ther rose, " One, two, three, four, five, six, 
seven;" adding, as a large number now 
arose, " More than I can count. God be 
praised!" What a moment was that! 
" God be praised !" was the language of 
many a heart. Till eleven o'clock the 
church was an inquiry-room, Mr. Moody, 
Mr. Sankey, many ministers, and others 
being engaged in pointing souls to Christ ; 
and many professed to accept God's gift, 
and to enter into peace. 

Tuesday being wet, meetings were held 
in the Free Church at twelve and at half- 
past two. The church was filled to over- 
flowing on both occasions ; many remain- 
ed in the church during the interval, sing- 
ing hymns, while some ministers were con- 
versing with anxious ones. At the after- 
noon meeting, Mr. Sankey sang several 
solos. The breathless stillness — tearful 
eyes — testified to the power that accom- 
panied these sacred songs. Mr. Moody 
spoke with a peculiar force and impress- 
iveness, on " I pray thee, have me excused." 

After the benediction, very many re- 
mained ; and when Mr. Moody again ask- 
ed those who desired to be saved now to 
stand to be prayed for, about 500 stood 
up. It is impossible adequately to de- 
scribe the scene — silence, broken only by 
that solemn rising. Very many were 
shedding silent tears — some from a sense 
of sin and danger, others from joy to see 
the Lord's work. One minister, who has 
seen much in connection with this religi- 
ous movement, lifted his head, which had 
been bowed in prayer, and seeing these 
hundreds standing, he utterly broke down, 
and wept like a child. 



Mr. Moody addressed the anxious, and 
then stated that he must leave, to keep an 
engagement at Inverness, but would re- 
quest Mr. Sankey to remain. 

Mr. Sankey and many ministers and 
Christian friends continued in conversa- 
tion with anxious ones, till nearly six 
o'clock. 

Men and women, the aged and the little 
child, were there, all with one accord — 
seeking Christ. Some, in answer to in- 
quiries, stated that to-day, for the first 
time, they had felt their sin and danger ; 
others had been seeking for twenty years 
— others for ten years, ahd various periods. 

Those who know the reserve, and shy- 
ness to mention what is personal in reli- 
gion, which characterize the people in this 
quarter, and who consider that many of 
those who stood for prayer were well 
known in a small town, will be best able 
to appreciate the power that could over- 
come that natural reserve. 



HUNTLY. 



At Huntley, once famous for its reli- 
gious gatherings, open-air meetings were 
held in Castle Park during the first week 
of July, where, as soon as it became known 
that the services of the American evangel- 
ists had been secured, a largely increased 
attendance from anything ever seen in 
Huntly before was everywhere confidently 
expected. Nor was the expectation dis- 
appointed. Some parties actually arrived 
on Saturday, worshiped in our churches 
on the Sabbath, and attended the prepar- 
atory meetings. At an early hour on 
Monday the people from neighboring 
parishes came flocking in from all direc- 
tions. All sorts of vehicles brought their 
living freights of both sexes, and the num- 
ber of pedestrians from neighboring local- 
ities was altogether unprecedented. The 
village of Aberchirder almost emptied it- 
self, and we understand the same may be 
said of many of the fishing villages along 
the coast, the exodus from which was so 
great, that the powers and resources of 
the " innocent railway" were most severely 
tasked. The early train from Keith 
brought 64 passengers to Huntly at 6:40 
a.m., the 9:10 train about 2,000, while the 
train from the south, which arrives here at 
8:56, brought fully 3,000 to the meeting. 

Immediately after the arrival of these 
trains, the streets of Huntly presented an 



! 



NAIRN— ELGIN. 



67 



appearance such as has never been seen 
in modern times. A conference was in- 
tended to be held in the Congregational 
Church, but so great was the crowd anx- 
ious for admission, that the idea had to be 
abandoned, as no church in the town 
would have contained half the number of 
those wishing to be present, and conse- 
quently the forenoon meeting in the Park 
was commenced at ten o'clock, instead of 
eleven, as intended. 

At this meeting, the lowest estimate we 
have heard was 10,000, some maintaining 
there were 12,000 on the ground. In the 
afternoon, the attendance was much larger, 
numbers having arrived by the mid-day 
trains, and also from the country ; and 
when Mr. Moody was addressing the as- 
semblage, it was computed he was speak- 
ing to at least 15,000 people, some assert- 
ing that the number was little short of 
20,000. Notwithstanding the vastness of 
the crowd, which, by the way, were stand- 
ing very closely packed together, Mr. 
Moody was most distinctly heard at its 
utmost limits. 

At the evening meeting, the attendance, 
though a considerable falling off from 
what it was in the forenoon, was large. 
Mr. Moody began by giving some account 
of his own experience, and proceeded to 
explain the nature of faith, showing that 
the reason of men's condemnation was, 
" that they spurned the remedy." His 
distinction between " I will not " and " I 
cannot " was well illustrated, and seldom 
has it been our fortune to listen to a 
clearer or simpler exposition. 

After Mr. Sankey had led in singing 
the 40th Psalm, Dr. Black, at the request 
of Mr. Moody, gave an exceedingly im- 
pressive address from Gal. ii. 20. The 
meeting then adjourned to the Parish 
Church. 

After a short address on the nature and 
scripturalness of inquiry-meetings, Mr. 
Moody invited the audience to sing a 
hymn standing, to give inquirers an oppor- 
tunity of stepping into the inquiry-room, 
and a few complied. Mr. Moody, we con- 
fess, startled us when he said that the 
vestry of the Established Church was 
built for the very purpose, but it was a 
goodly sight to see it turned to such a use. 



NAIRN. 



On Tuesday, July 21st, Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey were at Nairn. Their visit 



was preceded by prayer to God for an out- 
pouring of the Spirit, and many of the 
Christians were looking for much blessing, 
Mr. Moody presided at twelve o'clock in 
the U. P- Church. Long before the time 
announced that the service should begin, 
the building was crowded. Mr. Moody 
gave a short address on the three kinds of 
Christians — Asking, Seeking, and Knock- 
ing. Mr. Sankey sang, " Keep praying at 
the Door." 

A Bible-reading took place in the Free 
Church at three o'clock, and at half-past 
six Mr. Moody addressed an audience of 
not less than five thousand, on the Links, 
on the verse, " Go ye into all the world, 
and preach the gospel to every creature." 
At eight o'clock, upwards of one thousand 
filled the Free Church, where Mr. Moody 
spoke for half-an-hour, giving a question 
to each soul, Am I saved, or am I lost ? 
Mr. Moody asked those who wished to be 
prayed for to stand up, when many did so, 
and solemn indeed it was to see in the 
same pew some who stood up to show that 
they wished to be saved, while those next 
to them sat still. An inquiry-meeting was 
held at the close, and about sixty or more 
were conversed with, while many retired 
to their homes with an arrow in their 
hearts. Some professed to close with 
Jesus, and some left undecided for the 
Lord. Mr. Moody and his fellow-laborer 
left for Elgin next morning, while the ser- 
vices are being carried on by the minis- 
ters in town and an evangelist. The in- 
quiry-meeting on Wednesday evening was 
still more interesting, many professing to 
close with Jesus. The whole town is bet- 
ing moved. 



ELGIN. 



The Elgin Courier devotes two columns 
to the two days' visit of Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey to that ancient town, where 
meetings were held with results similar to 
those which have attended them else- 
where. 

Last evening, 23d, at seven o'clock, 
an open-air meeting was held on Ladyhill. 
The weather was very favorable. Nearly 
all the shops on the High-street were shut 
at about seven o'clock. The sun, as he 
sank to rest in the west, shed his dying 
glory over the most picturesque scene on 
the hill-side. It was estimated by some 
that there were between five and six thou- 
sand persons present, it being the largest 



6S 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



gathering of the kind we ever remember 
having seen in Elgin. Tempted by the 
fine evening, all classes of the people turn- 
ed out, many arriving from all parts of the 
surrounding districts. At the foot of the 
hill a platform was erected, which was oc- 
cupied by the choir and speakers. The 
whole hill-side, for a great distance up and 
round about, was covered with the dense 
multitude, that presented, with their varied 
dresses, a most imposing spectacle. On 
the Market Green there were also a large 
number of people. 

The meeting having been opened with 
praise and prayer, Mr. Moody spoke for 
about an hour on the words, " Ye must be 
born again," with characteristic earnest- 
ness and graphic description. Several 
hymns were then sung, after which the 
meeting was dismissed, it being intimated 
that another would be held in the Parish 
Church, for which there was a great rush. 
The gates having been opened, the church 
seats were completely filled in a few min- 
utes. The meeting was devoted to praise 
and prayer, Mr. Moody leaving to speak 
with the anxious in the New Evangelistic 
Hall. 

Such a Sabbath-day as the last one we 
have never seen in Elgin. During the 
intervals between the different meetings, 
our streets were thronged with people 
from all parts of the surrounding districts, 
of all classes, " set out," of course, in Sun- 
day attire. The number of people from 
the coast towns — Lossiemouth, Hopeman, 
Burghead, Garmouth, Buckie, etc., was 
also (for such an occasion) unprecedently 
great. 

At nine o'clock a meeting of Sabbath- 
school teachers and mission workers was 
held in the Parish Church. It was thor- 
oughly representative of nearly all religious 
workers in the town and district. Most of 
the clergymen of the town were present. 

Mr. Moody's address, specially given to 
workers in the Christian field, was a most 
practical one, and was all through power- 
fully illustrated by most suitable anecdotes, 
some of which, owing to their rather face- 
tious nature, produced a smile on the faces 
of those present. 

At half-past one o'clock, Mr. Moody 
preached in the Established Church, which 
was crowded to the utmost extent. 

At five o'clock in the evening the fare- 
well open-air meeting was held on Lady- 
hill, which was, literally speaking, one huge 
black mass. For about an hour or so be- 



fore the time of meeting a perfect stream 
of people kept pouring onwards up the 
High-street towards the hill. Ere the 
hour had arrived, the crowd had grown 
densely large. There were between 7,000 
and 8,000 persons present. 

Mr. Moody arrived, with Mr. Sankey, 
about five o'clock. The first four verses 
of the 40th Psalm were sung, Mr. Sankey 
leading. Nothing could have been more 
beautiful or soul-inspiring than to hear the 
sound of the fine old tune " Evan," which 
reverberated from the hill-side. After prayer 
Mr. Sankey sang " The Lost Sheep." Mr. 
Moody then spoke from Luke iv. 16. As 
he concluded, the weather cleared up, and 
the scene was considerably enlivened and 
brightened by the rays of the sun. Mr. 
Sankey sang, " I am coming, Lord," the 
people joining with him. Prayer was then 
offered, after which Mr. Moody intimated 
that meetings would be held in the Parish 
Church and the Free High Church after 
the open-air one was dismissed. The 
crowd then separated. 

In a short time both Parish and Free 
Churches were filled. In the Parish 
Church an able and appropriate address 
was given by Mr. Moody on the words, 
" Son, remember," Mr. Sankey singing a 
very beautiful hymn. At the after-meet- 
ing a large number of anxious inquirers 
stayed, something like seventy-seven per- 
sons standing up, expressing by so doing 
their wish to become Christians. The 
meetings in the other churches were equal- 
ly successful. 

A SECOND VISIT TO ELGIN. 

After a visit at Banffshire Mr. Moody 
spent another day at Elgin, and there was 
great joy on Wednesday afternoon when it 
was flashed through the country side that 
on the following evening there was to be 
another of those great open-air gatherings 
which every one had enjoyed so much. 
The meeting is thus described : 

It was a strange contrast last Thursday ; 
at five o'clock, in the busy Show at Inver- 
ness, at seven in the streets of Elgin, quiet 
at all times, but that night altogether pas- 
sengerless and deserted. Surely some- 
thing unusual was going on — the streets 
abandoned, the house-doors fast, the shops 
closed. Through half a mile of the empty 
streets ours were the only footsteps that 
echoed on the pavement, and everything 
was silent and desolate as a plague-stricken 



FAREWELL MEETINGS IN ABERDEEN. 



69 



city! At last, just on the verge of the 
town, the stillness was broken by the dis- 
tant sound of a voice, and the turn of a 
lane revealed a sight which time can never 
efface from the memory. There stood the 
inhabitants, motionless, breathless, plague- 
stricken indeed — plague-stricken with the 
plague of sin. The sermon was evidently 
half over, and the preacher, with folded 
arms, leaned over the wooden rail of the 
rude platform. Oh, the sin upon these 
faces round him ! How God was search- 
ing the heart that night ! I cannot tell 
you who were there, or how many, or what 
a good choir there was, or what Mr. San- 
key sang, or which dignitary prayed. I 
cannot tell you how beautifully the sun 
was setting, or how fresh the background 
of woods looked, or how azure the sky 
was. But these old men penitent, these 
drunkards petrified, these strong men's 
tears, these drooping heads of women, 
these groups of gutter children, with their 
wondering eyes ! Oh, that multitude ot 
thirsty ones — what a sight it was ! What 
could the preacher do but preach his best ? 
And long after the time for stopping was it 
a marvel to hear the persuasive voice still 
pleading with these Christless thousands ? 
One often hears doubts as to the possi- 
bility of producing an impression in the 
open air, but there is no mistake this time. 
No, there is no mistaking these long con- 
centric arcs of wistful faces curving around 
the speaker, and these reluctant tears, 
which conscious guilt has wrung from eyes 
unused to weep. Oh, the power of the 
living Spirit of God ! Oh, the fascination 
of the gospel of Christ ! Oh, the gladness 
of the old, old story Of these men and 
women hurrying graveward ! The hun- 
dred-and-one night in Glasgow excepted, 
never have we seen the Holy Spirit's near- 
ness more keenly realized. These thou- 
sands just hung spellbound on the speak- 
er's lips. It seemed as if he daren't stop, 
so many hungry ones were there to feed. 
At last he seemed about to close, and the 
audience strained to catch the last solemn 
words ; when the preacher, casting his eye 
on a little boy, seemed moved with an 
overpowering desire to tell the little ones 
of a children's Christ. Then followed for 
fifteen minutes more the most beautiful 
and pathetic children's sermon we have 
ever heard ; and then, turning to the weep- 
ing mothers and fathers, concluded with a 
last tender appeal, which must have sunk 
far into many a parent's heart. 



INQUIRY-MEETINGS. 

Long before the close of the address it 
was evident to all that the Lord of the 
harvest was going to give us a glorious 
reaping-time that night. We had not, in- 
deed, been ten minutes on the ground, 
when a stranger whispered, in the very 
middle of the address, " Will you come 
and speak to a woman about her soul ?" at 
the same time pointing out a drooping 
figure standing near, with face buried in 
her shawl. We were not surprised, there- 
fore, at the great crowds which entered 
the inquiry-meetings — in one church for 
women, another in a large hall for men, 
while the Christians went apart by them- 
selves to another church to pray. The 
arrangements connected with these after- 
meetings were all beautifully managed, 
and shortly after nine o'clock the whole 
three were well under way. The women's in- 
quiry-meeting was supplied with relays of 
workers from the prayer-meeting. The 
work was on a very large scale, and the 
workers' report was, that the cases were of 
a very hopeful character. But the work 
amongst the men — and this is a splendid 
testimony to the depth and reality of the 
impressions — were even on a larger scale 
still; and the sight in the Evangelistic 
Hall, where the men's inquiry-meeting was 
held, is not soon to be forgotten. The 
whole hall was filled with men, broken up 
into little groups of twos and threes, talk- 
ing in hushed yet earnest voices on the 
great subject of the one thing needful ; 
while behind, in the committee-room, half 
a hundred young men were gathered in 
prayer for their groping brothers. Many 
of these had themselves but newly decided 
for Christ, and were the fruit of the week's 
meetings for men, which have been blessed 
by God far above all expectation. 

It is useless to attempt to give even an 
approximate idea of the extent of the bless- 
ing which fell upon Elgin on Thursday 
night. The whole of Morayshire has 
shared it, and a powerful hold has been 
gained in nearly every farmhouse and vil- 
lage throughout the country side. 



FAREWELL MEETINGS IN 
ABERDEEN. 

At the pressing request of a large num- 
ber of those who had taken part in the 
evangelistic work set agoing in Aberdeen 



7° 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



some months ago, Mr. Moody paid a fare- 
well visit to Aberdeen in August, and 
addressed several meetings, at the same 
time taking occasion to urge on to greater 
zeal those who were engaged in the good 
work. Mr. Sankey has been obliged to 
go south to a more genial temperature to 
recruit his health, but Mr. Moody has 
wrought on since he left Aberdeen, in dif- 
ferent districts in the north, almost with- 
out ceasing ; the same remarkable results 
always attending his labors. 

At seven o'clock, Mr. Moody met with 
a large body of young converts in the 
Free South Church, and addressed to 
them a few parting words. He spoke on 
his favorite topic of " Confessing Christ," 
pleading hard with those who had lately 
come to Christ to come boldly forward and 
confess Him. 

The Music Hall was crowded to excess 
long before eight o'clock, the hour at 
which Mr. Moody was announced to give 
an address, the passages, orchestra, and 
galleries being quite packed. " Except a 
man be born again he cannot enter the 
kingdom of heaven," was the text on 
which Mr. Moody based his discourse. 
Christ did not say these words to a drunk- 
ard, to a thief, to a harlot, but to a man 
who in our days would be made a D.D. 
or an LL.D. 

After referring to the often-doubted 
possibility of sudden conversions by those 
who could not understand it, even al- 
though there were living evidences of it 
before them, he bade the meeting farewell, 
with the hope that they would all meet on 
the shores of eternity. 

Mr. Moody stayed in the hall convers- 
ing with anxious inquirers until about ten 
o'clock, when he drove to a men's meet- 
ing in Trinity Free Church, which had 
gathered at nine o'clock in the expecta- 
tion that Mr. Moody would give them a 
farewell address. In the course of the few 
sentences he spoke to them, Mr. Moody 
said they could have no idea of the influ- 
ence the Aberdeen men's meetings had 
had in other places he had visited. In all 
of the towns the example of Aberdeen had 
been followed, and large bands of young 
men were enlisted in evangelistic work. 



A number of the young men then retir- 
ed with Mr. Moody into an ante-room, to 
hold private conversation with him, and 
he continued to converse with them until 
it was time for him to go and prepare for 
his journey to Wick by steamer. 

MEETING AT CRAIG CASTLE. 

On Sunday afternoon, an open-air evan- 
gelistic service was held on Craig Castle 
lawn, conducted by Mr. Moody. The 
weather in the early part of the day was 
very unpropitious, heavy showers descend- 
ing, with brief intervals, until four p.m., 
when the rain ceased, and it continued 
fair during the evening. The wet detained 
not a few at their homes, no doubt, but 
most of those who came seemed to have 
determined to be present in any case ; and 
by five o'clock a very large company- — 
especially taking into account the thinly- 
peopled districts from which they had 
gathered — had assembled on the beautiful 
lawn in front of the castle. Every valley 
and hamlet within a radius of ten miles 
sent its company in gig, cart, or afoot, until 
at five o'clock about 2,500 people stood on 
the lawn. The gathering resembled some- 
what one of the Covenanter hill -side 
meetings, save that while the Bibles were 
still present, the broadswords were alto- 
gether absent ; and the rendezvous, instead 
of being a wild, rocky pass, was a hospi- 
table castle, with its fairy dell and leaping 
linn, celebrated in song, and known as one 
of the loveliest spots in Scotland. 

The beauty of the scene seemed speci- 
ally to move Mr. Moody, who referred to 
it again and again in his discourse, which 
was one of peculiar beauty, power, and 
pathos. Standing in an open carriage 
placed near a towering tree, the preacher 
spoke for nearly an hour from the parable 
of the marriage feast. A very marked im- 
pression was produced, and many retired 
at the close of the service for conversation 
with the preacher and other ministers and 
friends. 

The Craig gathering of August, 1874, 
will, we believe, be ever memorable to not 
a few as " the beginning of days " to 
them. 



THE LAST WEEK IN SCOTLAND. 



During the last days of August, a Fare- 
well Convention was held at Inverness. 
It was an "all-day meeting," each hour 
being devoted to a special subject. 

After the Convention, Mr. Moody went 
down the Caledonian Canal to Oban, and 
there on Friday, the 28th, gave an address, 
with much apparent blessing, in the U. P. 
Church. There had been much prepara- 
tory work in the town, not only in the 
open-air meetings, but also in other special 
services ; and in the two preceding months 
the Rev. H. Bonar and the Rev. A. Bonar 
had ministered the Word in the Free 
Church. From Oban Mr. Moody went to 
Campbeltown, by way of Tarbert, on Loch 
Fyne, and remained from the 29th till the 
3d September, when he left for Rothesay, 
taking the Tarbert route, and staying at 
Ballinakill, where many were gathered 
from various parts of Kintyre to meet 
him. His work at Campbeltown was deep- 
ly interesting, and was crowned with re- 
markable blessing. He commenced on 
Sunday, the 30th, by three services ; speak- 
ing first to workers, then on the blood, and 
lastly on the grand command, " Go ye into 
all the world and preach the gospel to 
every creature." The result after that 
last address was most striking. Upwards 
of fifty stood up to ask to be prayed for, 
and to declare their desire to be Chris- 
tians. The meeting had been over-crowd- 
ed, and some went to the Drill Hall, where 
the gospel was preached by willing help- 
ers ; but in the great after-meeting in the 
church, all were united, and it was felt to 
be a time of wonderful enlargement and 
power. On the three following days the 
interest was deepened at successive meet- 
ings ; till at the last, on Wednesday night, 
when Mr. Moody had preached on God's 
invitation and man's excuses, a very large 
number were gathered into a hall, either 
as converts or inquirers ; and it was mani- 
fest that much fruit had been gathered to 
life eternal. The work now is laid on the 
hearts of some who are striving to confirm 
the souls of the disciples ; and, as one 
means, it has been arranged to have a 
Converts' Meeting weekly, similar to that 
in Ewing Place, Glasgow. 



The last meeting was at Rothesay, and 
is thus described : 

Meetings for special prayer and evan- 
gelistic work have been held here since 
the middle of October last year. These 
meetings were held in several of the 
churches on the Sabbath evenings ; in the 
Victoria Hall, and latterly in the Town 
Mission Hall on week-day evenings. These 
services, added to the general interest 
manifested throughout the country in re- 
ligious things, led to united meetings for 
prayer. These daily meetings were brought 
to a close about the end of May. The 
meetings in the Town Mission, however, 
were continued three nights weekly, from 
the 14th Dec. last, till the present time, 
and have, we believe, been blessed to not 
a few. There have been marked cases of 
interest, and those who took part in the 
meetings have been greatly refreshed and 
encouraged, while week by week they were 
growing more earnest in the work. The 
prayer-meeting on Saturday evenings has 
been for some time marked as possessed 
of more than usual interest. 

Several requests from all the ministers 
and office-bearers in town were sent to 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey, without suc- 
cess until last week, when, on returning 
from Campbeltown to Greenock, en route 
for Belfast, Mr. Moody kindly agreed to 
spend Thursday evening in Rothesay. As 
soon as the telegram to this effect was re- 
ceived, arrangements were at once made 
for holding one or more meetings. The 
news soon spread through the town and 
island, and it was speedily evident that 
one building would be insufficient to hold 
the numbers likely to attend. According- 
ly it was arranged to hold a meeting at 
seven o'clock in the West Free Church, 
and a second meeting in the East Free 
Church at half-past eight o'clock. Af- 
ter Mr. Moody's arrival, it was found 
that only one meeting could be ad- 
dressed by him, and a change of arrange- 
ment had accordingly to be made — a 
change at first regretted, but which even- 
tually proved to be for the benefit of all. 
The West Free Church, being the largest 
buildirg, was accordingly selected, and by 



72 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



seven o'clock was literally packed — pass- 
ages, pulpit stairs, lobby, etc., being occu- 
pied by a dense mass of human beings. 
Mr. Moody arrived at half-past seven, 
when Rev. Mr. Thomson took the chair, 
and gave out the 43d Psalm. Rev. Mr. 
Ross read several requests for prayer, after 
which, the Chairman having engaged in 
prayer, it speedily became manifest that 
the atmosphere of the church was such as 
the ordinary means of ventilation could 
not remedy, so densely was it packed. 
During the singing of two hymns — " God 
is Love," and " Jesus paid it all," — ar- 
rangements were being made for conduct- 
ing the service in the open air. 

To the great relief of many in the church, 
and to the intense delight of hundreds out- 
side, Mr. Moody intimated that the re- 
mainder of the service would be conducted 
by the sea-shore on the Esplanade. Here, 
in a few minutes, during which the 23d 
and part of the 17th Psalms were being 
sung, an immense throng of people, num- 
bering not fewer than 3,000 persons, had 
assembled round the preacher. After a 
short prayer, Mr. Moody preached from 
Mark xvi. 15 and 16. For fully an hour 
he riveted the attention of his large au- 
dience, narrative, metaphor, parable, illus- 
tration, and appeal following each other 
in quick succession and agreeable variety. 
Towards the close of the service the scene 
was one never to be forgotten. The fir- 



manent was cloudless and myriads of stars 
shone brilliantly (for by this time night' 
had fully set in), and were reflected in the 
Bay, beyond which lay the Cowal Hills, 
dark and massive in the distance. Every 
now and again the houses in the Gallow- 
gate and the spire of the West Free 
Church were lit up by flashes of sheet 
lightning. ^ The Esplanade with its thou- 
sands was in front of the preacher. Deep- 
ly impressed, evidently, with the position, 
the scene, and the circumstance that he 
was addressing probably for the last time 
a Scottish audience, Mr. Moody conclud- 
ed a discourse, which for point and power 
we have not heard on any former occasion 
surpassed. It was evident the Spirit of 
the living God owned the truth, for when 
the intimation was given that a second 
meeting would be held in the church for 
prayer and further explanation of the way 
of life, the building was very speedily well- 
nigh filled. 

An inquiry-meeting was held afterwards 
in the hall adjoining the church, to which 
a large number of persons retired, deeply 
impressed with the concerns of the soul. 
The night of Thursday, the 3d of Septem- 
ber, 1874, will, we believe, be memorable 
in the history of man*- a precious soul, 
and many will take up as their own the 
words of the Psalmist — " The Lord hath 
done great things for us, whereof we are 
glad." 



THE WORK IN IRELAND. 



BELFAST. 



I. 

Sept. 6, 1874. — These beloved and hon- 
ored brethren have commenced their labors 
of love among us with most marked tokens 
of God's smile and approval. On Sabbath 
morning, the 6th inst, the first meeting 
was held in Dougall Square Chapel, at the 
early hour of eight. The meeting was ex- 
clusively of Christian workers. Long be- 
fore the hour named, the chapel was 
crowded. The meeting was conducted in 
the usual way by Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey. Mr. Moody struck the key-note 
of entire devotedness to, and unwearied 
labor for, the Lord Jesus. All present 
seemed, in silent prayer, to lay themselves 
upon the altar afresh, as living sacrifices 
to the service of God. 

The second meeting was advertised to 
meet at 1 1 : 30, in Fishervvick Place spaci- 
ous church. The desire to hear had 
crowded the church long before that hour, 
many going away unable to obtain admis- 
sion. Mr. Sankey led the praise. Mr. 
Moody chose as his subject, " Love." 
The impression upon the minds of multi- 
tudes was very deep. Many, we feel per- 
suaded, tasted in fresh power of the love 
of God, and had their love drawn out to 
Him who first loved us. 

Still a third meeting remained, adver- 
tised to be held at 7 p. m., in the largest 
church in Belfast, capable of holding 
2,000. It is considered that not above 
one-fourth of the people who crowded the 
streets around the building were able to 
gain admission. During the service there 
were visible signs of the presence and 
power of the Holy Spirit. At the second 
meeting many anxious sinners remained 
for conversation. Not a few professed to 
accept the offered gift of God, from the 
hand of His promise, even His only-begot- 
ten Son. 

The daily prayer-meeting was com- 
menced in Dougall Street Chapel, on 
Monday, at twelve. The chapel was so 
over-crowded, it was deemed advisable to 
adjourn next day to a more capacious 



building, capable of holding 1,400 people. 
This " sweet hour of prayer " is the centre 
of the whole movement, and has already 
proved a blessing to many. On Monday 
evening the evangelistic meeting was held 
in Rosemary Street Church. It was, we 
believe, a most blessed and fruitful one. 
But the crowd was so great, and causing 
such inconvenience, as to induce Mr. 
Moody to alter his plans somewhat, and 
during the succeeding days of the week he 
has held a meeting at two p. m. exclusively 
for women, in Fishervvick Place Church, 
capable of holding 1,400 people and up- 
wards, and a meeting in the evening in the 
other church exclusively for men. The 
Lord has greatly blessed the arrangement. 
The meeting at two, for women, has been 
crowded each day. The Spirit of the 
Lord has been present to heal. Each day 
increasing numbers remain to be spoken 
to about their souls, and many profess to 
have entered into rest through faith in 
Jesus. 

The same report is true of the meeting 
for men. The Spirit of God is taking of 
the things of Christ and showing them to 
very many. The meeting last night was 
particularly solemn. The work of the 
Spirit of God seemed more deep and clear, 
and many professed to accept the offered 
Saviour. 

The Christian community has been 
deeply stirred ; we are filled with expecta- 
tion ; we are looking for great things. 
The work of the time seems to be fully 
more extensive and deep than in any place 
visited by these brethren. 



II. 

The work has had a good commence- 
ment in Belfast. Numbers thronged and 
crushed to the churches, so much so that 
the happy plan was adopted of dividing 
the meetings, and holding gatherings for 
women only at two o'clock, and for men 
only at eight o'clock. Consequently, the 



74 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



large churches are well filled, without any 
unseemly disorder. 

On Friday (nth) Mr. Moody addressed 
both meetings, taking for his text, " The 
Son of Man is come to seek and to save 
that which was lost." With great power 
and aptitude he proclaimed the Lord 
Jesus as the "Seeker ;" and very touch- 
ingly he convinced the people that He was 
now seeking each individually, seeking to 
save and to bless them. Mighty Faith, 
then, appears to be the secret of Mr. 
Moody's power. On the hearers he urges 
decision, now to believe, instant salvation 
on faith in Jesus only. His address was 
interspersed with telling illustrations, 
which came right home to every heart. 
He rapidly referred to the parable of the 
lost sheep and lost piece of silver, and 
graphically narrated the sudden conver- 
sion of Zaccheus, unmistakably evidenced 
by the immediate fruit of the Spirit in his 
change from an extortioner to a restitutor. 
Mr. Sankey's very sweet solos and touch- 
ing hymns, accompanied on the American 
harmonium, seemed to exercise a power- 
ful effect in, as it were, deepening the im- 
pression of the Word. 

The large church of the Rev. H. M. 
Williamson, which holds 2,000, was filled 
with women of all classes ; and the one in 
Rosemary Street, which holds 1,500, had 
every seat occupied with men. They were 
mostly shopkeepers and mechanics, and a 
large proportion such as do not regularly 
attend churches. After the evening meet- 
ing, the Christians were invited to remain 
and pray for the speakers to the anxious; 
and the inquirers were directed to side 
apartments, of which several were filled 
with those whom the Holy Spirit was con- 
vincing of sin, and of the need of the seek- 
ing Saviour. Thus, while such a glorious 
work as has been witnessed in Scotland, 
has not yet taken place in Belfast, a sweet 
and encouraging commencement has been 
made. 

III. 

The interest in both meetings is deep- 
ening and extending. It is certainly a 
marvelous sight, " filling the mouth with 
laughter, and the tongue with singing," to 
see the crowded meetings of women of all 
ranks and classes, as they listen with rapt 
attention to the message of mercy; to 
mark the manifestations of deep feeling 
and subdued emotion visible everywhere, 



and the numbers willing to remain in 
the inquiry-meeting for conversation and 
prayer. 

The interest in the meeting in the 
evening is increasing equally. It is dan- 
gerous and unprofitable to speak of num- 
bers ; but one may say with confidence 
that from fifty to a hundred, at least, re- 
main each evening, under anxiety of soul, 
desiring to be pointed to the Lamb of God 
who taketh away the sin of the world. 
These are found of all classes, and of all 
shades of moral and religious character — 
backsliders, notorious sinners, moral young 
men, whose consciences are yet tender, 
and skeptics, whose hearts have been 
blasted as by an east wind. The majority 
of the inquirers are young men. This is a 
special, and I may add a most hopeful, fea- 
ture of the work. Many seem clearly, in 
the judgment of man, to have embraced 
the offered gift, and to be rejoicing in God. 

On Saturday, the 12th, there was held 
one meeting — for children — presided over 
by Mr. Sankey. The meeting was most 
interesting, and crowded with earnest 
young faces. 

On Sabbath, the 13th inst., Mr. Moody 
held a meeting for Christian workers at the 
early hour of eight, and notwithstanding 
the hour the place was crowded, so much 
so that the overflow filled an adjoining 
room. The address was touching entire 
consecration to God, and more whole- 
hearted activity in His service. An open- 
air meeting was advertised for half-past 
two o'clock. It was held in an open space, 
in the midst of the mill-workers of our 
town. Few, if any, of the thousands who 
attended that meeting will ever forget it. 
Very many, I believe, will remember it 
with joy in the Father's home on high. 
The attendance was exceedingly great, es- 
timated variously at from ten to twenty 
thousand ! The weather was exceedingly 
favorable. Mr. Moody's address was 
founded upon Mark xvi. 15, " Go ye into 
all the world and preach the gospel to 
every creature." Mr. Sankey sang " Jesus 
of Nazareth passeth by." While he did so 
I could observe in the glistening eye, and 
the deep sighs of many around where I 
stood, that it was even so. 

In the evening Mr. Moody held a meet- 
ing exclusively for inquirers; none else 
were admitted, the attendance far exceed- 
ing our hope — upwards of three hundred. 
All human computation on this subject 
must be very indefinite, but when we con- 



BELFAST. 



75 



sider the many who were not present, see- 
ing that the evening service was held at 
the same hour in all the churches, and add 
also the numbers at inquiry-meetings held 
in many of the churches, it will be seen 
that the shaking among the dry bones 
has been already very great; in Mr. 
Moody's judgment, fully greater than dur- 
ing the first week in any other place. 

The attendance at the meetings on Mon- 
day, 14th, seem to be on the increase. At 
the meeting for women in Fisherwick Place 
there were present about fifteen hundred, 
and at the meeting for inquirers a marked 
increase ; more, indeed, than the Christian 
workers present could overtake. 

As time advanced, this gracious work of 
God seems to extend and deepen rapidly. 
On Tuesday the experiment was tried of 
holding a meeting in the evening exclu- 
sively for women, in order to reach the 
case of workers in mills and warehouses. 
More than an hour before the time of 
meeting, the streets around were packed 
with a dense mass of women ; and when 
the gates were opened the place was filled 
almost in a moment ; and after that, with 
the overflow, three large churches. In all 
these meetings, the anxious, willing to be 
spoken to, were more than could be over- 
taken. We have reached a blessed diffi- 
culty — our inability to find Christian work- 
ers in sufficient number, who are able and 
willing to point the seeking sinner to the 
Lamb of God. 

The number of strangers who from long 
distances visit Belfast to attend the mid- 
day meetings is daily increasing. In this 
way the work is already extending, and, I 
trust, will cover the whole island. At its 
present stage of progress, the most marked 
features are desire to hear the Word of 
God, willingness to be spoken to upon the 
state of the soul, frank confession on the 
part of many that they do not savingly 
know Jesus ; and, most blessed of all, the 
equally frank confession on the part of 
many that they have " found Him of whom 
Moses in the law and the prophets did 
write, Jesus of Nazareth." 

Last night (Thursday, 17th,) the num- 
ber waiting to be spoken to was so great 
that an attempt to speak to each individu- 
ally was scarcely made. Two or three ad- 
dresses were given in the way of pointing 
them to the Lamb of God. 

To-day (Friday, 18th,) the mid-day 
meeting is solely for professing Christians 
— the subject, " Assurance." In the even- 



ing the meeting is intended for such only 
as are seeking Jesus. Mr. Moody has 
adopted these expedients because of the 
want of any hall or building sufficient to 
contain the crowds seeking admission. 
Let me venture to suggest to any of your 
readers who live in cities likely to be vis- 
ited by Messrs. Moody and Sankey, the 
wisdom of erecting a temporary structure, 
if there is no suitable place. It would 
save the strength of these beloved breth- 
ren greatly, and help to concentrate at first 
the work. 

It is a very hopeful feature of the work 
that it has begun to spread to the adjacent 
towns. Meetings have been held by others 
for some four nights in Bangor, ten miles 
from Belfast ; and, considering the size of 
the town, the work there was equally 
great. Thus we are looking forward that 
the work shall extend over the whole prov- 
ince, and over the whole island. 



IV. 

The work is taking deep root in Belfast. 
We may confidently expect " greater 
things" in Ireland. At the inquiry -meet- 
ings there are larger numbers than attended 
similar gatherings at Edinburgh or Glas- 
gow at the same period. Over 300 anx- 
ious inquirers remained to be spoken with 
at the inquiry-meeting on last Sunday even- 
ing. At these meetings there are no ad- 
dresses ; they are announced solely for in- 
quirers — none others are invited to attend. 
It is not an unwonted feature to find men 
and women, young and old, voluntarily 
flocking to meetings for the sole purpose 
of inquiring the way of salvation and stat- 
ing their perplexities. 

The noon prayer-meeting on Monday 
was devoted to accounts, from ministers 
and others, of the results of the work so 
far. 

Intense calm and deep earnestness char- 
acterized all the meetings. The Holy 
Spirit was poured out, not with a rushing 
wind, but in a still, small voice. An unu- 
sual proportion of fine young men waited 
to be conversed with in the inquiry-rooms. 
All seemed to feel there are but the two 
classes, the saved and the lost. 

Various were the difficulties felt by in- 
quirers, but all such as anxious souls have 
expressed from time to time. Some could 
not understand what " coming to Christ " 
is ; others had previously come, but were 



7 6 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



staggered because they had not the com- 
plete mastery of sin ; others, again, had not 
felt a sufficient sense of danger. Warm- 
hearted and experienced Christians list- 
ened to the difficulties of each and all, 
and were in most cases enabled by the 
Holy Spirit to speak the suited word and 
remove the stumbling blocks. 

The open-air meeting in Agnes Street at 
2:30 on Sunday was attended by numbers 
variously estimated at from 10,000 to 20,- 
000. The fundamental truths of the gos- 
pel were forcibly put and ably illustrated. 
Many were bathed in tears. Multitudes 
of careless men and women have been 
awakened. 

Singing bears a most important part in 
the work of God. Deeply effective are 
Mr. Sankey's solos, not only in touching 
the heart's affections, but in deepening 
the impressions made by the Word. The 
solo, " Too Late," following on Mr. 
Moody's address on the despair of the lost 
in hell, had the most solemn effect. The 
wail, " Oh ! let us in, oh ! let us in," and 
the awful response, " Too late ! too late ! 
you cannot enter now," are enough ^ to 
wring the inmost soul of every wavering 
and undecided sinner. 



V. 

The second week of the labors of these 
beloved brethren has closed. As we 
look back with thanksgiving and wonder, 
we can only exclaim, "What hath God 
wrought ! " The meeting of Christian 
workers was held on Sabbath morning 
(September 20), at eight, in May Street 
Church. Shortly after seven the place 
was filled with an audience of, say, fifteen 
hundred, and the overflow filled also an 
adjoining building. It is surely a signifi- 
cant fact, and a very blessed sight, to see 
hundreds of men and women at such an 
early hour crowding out to call upon God, 
and to be addressed upon the subject of 
working for Jesus. 

An open-air meeting, similar to the one 
held on the previous Sabbath, had been 
arranged for two o'clock. The weather 
in the morning was very unpropitious ; 
but by noon the day brightened up, and 
by the hour of meeting it was all that 
could be desired. 

I shall not attempt to estimate the num- 
ber who heard the gospel on this occasion. 
I observe a friend from England, who was 



present upon the previous Sabbath, esti- 
mates the number at 30,000. Whatever 
the number may have been, it was cer- 
tainly exceeded on last Sabbath. Mr. 
Moody was greatly helped. The fruit of 
the seed can only be fully seen when gath- 
ered at that day ! 

A meeting for inquirers only was ar- 
ranged to be held in the evening of the 
same day, in the Ulster Hall, the largest 
public building we have. Admission to 
this meeting was strictly limited to those 
professing anxiety to find Jesus. Chris- 
tian workers were admitted by. ticket, a 
method adopted to avoid the mistake too 
often made at such meetings of allowing 
incompetent or improper persons to en- 
gage in such work. There is not one 
Christian in a hundred fitted for this most 
delicate and difficult service, requiring, as 
it does, close communion with Jesus, much 
knowledge of the human heart, and very 
clear views of gospel truth, and not less a 
desire to know nothing, and to speak of 
nothing, save Jesus Christ and Him cru- 
cified. 

While all this is true, it is equally true 
that none are oftener blessed in this work 
than young converts, while their virgin 
love is yet fresh, and their faith clear and 
simple. There was at the meeting for in- 
quirers an attendance of some 500 — this 
in addition, it may be noticed, to many 
meetings of like kind held in various 
churches at the close of the evening ser- 
vice. It was very touching and stimulat- 
ing, when an opportunity was given by 
Mr. Moody at the close of the meeting, to 
hear many young men read out, in trem- 
bling tones, and yet with beaming coun- 
tenances, some previous promise of the 
Word of God. It seemed like throwing 
out a life-buoy to the struggling ones 
around, who were swimming for life in the 
waters of death — like the letting down of 
a cord to the prisoners in the pit in which 
there is no water. Subsequent informa- 
tion in the young men's meeting proved 
that these truths were laid hold of sav- 
ingly by not a few that Sabbath night in 
the Ulster Hall. 

On Sabbath night we had our first meet- 
ing for young men, from nine till ten 
o'clock. To the surprise of all of us, 
there were about 1,500 present. The be- 
ginning is a special work, which, I trust, 
will spread as in Glasgow. There had 
been during the Spring a very marked 
work among the young men in Belfast, in 



BELFAST. 



77 



connection with the Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association. Now it has been deep- 
ened and greatly extended. 

During the week, the tide of spiritual 
life seemed to increase each day. The 
Bible-readings at two o'clock have been 
full of interest, specially stimulating to 
many whose spiritual life had hitherto been 
very dormant. The reading on " Grace " 
yesterday was, I feel persuaded, made a 
blessing to many of the children of God, 
while helping over the threshold many 
almost saved. 

The more special evangelistic services 
in the evenings have been held this week 
in St. Enoch's Church. The crowds de- 
siring to hear the gospel have proved in- 
conveniently great, filling the church an 
hour before the time ; while the after- 
meetings have been so filled, that the 
work of speaking to the anxious has been 
very imperfectly done. 

Now as to the point reached in the 
progress of this great work of God, I 
woul'd not like even unintentionally to 
mislead any one. The work is great 
and extensive beyond what I have written, 
and yet there remains so very much land 
to be possessed. There are tens of thou- 
sands of our population still untouched. 
Many of the higher classes, church-goers, 
seem still unmoved. We need continued 
prayer. We need to realize the " now " 
of our opportunity — to understand that 
Jesus is saying, " This thy day." 



VI. 

The progress of the work of God in 
Belfast is still very marked. God con- 
tinues to own the labors of these dear 
brethren. The manifestations of the 
Spirit's presence and power were very 
marked. In the earlier days of the move- 
ment, of the many who were deeply con- 
vinced of sin, comparatively few seemed to 
come to rest and peace and faith in Jesus. 
It seemed as if a higher tide of the Spirit's 
power were needed to guide them through 
the quicksands of difficulty, and over the 
bar of doubt and distrust, into the haven 
of rest. 

This week, we thank God, it is other- 
wise. We can say with thanksgiving con- 
cerning many, " They which have believed 
do enter into rest." 

The meeting for the young on Saturday 
(26th) was very striking. Mr. Moody pre- 



sided. The truth seemed to reach, in the 
Spirit's power, many young hearts. A 
meeting for boys under fifteen has been 
organized. Some of the cases in it are 
exceedingly touching, affording, I con- 
ceive, illustrations of the work of God 
upon the human heart in its simplest and 
deepest form. This meeting for boys as- 
sembles every evening now at half-past 
seven. 

The open-air meeting on Sabbath (27th) 
was held in a different part of the town ; 
the multitudes assembling equally great, 
according to some greater, than on the 
past Sabbaths. Mr. Moody's address was 
well calculated to awaken from security 
and draw sinners to the one Refuge. We 
have been reaping the fruits in our inquiry- 
meetings during the week. 

On Monday we had no meeting — rather, 
one of the most remarkable meetings, I 
shall venture to say, ever held in Belfast. 
Fisherwick Place Church was open for in- 
quirers from two till ten o'clock. Mr. 
Moody and other Christian workers were 
occupied all that time in pointing sinners 
to the Lamb of God. It is impossible to 
say how many wounded spirits were con- 
versed with during the day. Many very 
experienced Christians, who have seen 
much of the Lord's work in other years, 
declare they never saw a meeting like it. 

Though more privately held, I must not 
omit to notice a meeting which Mr. Moody 
had on Sabbath night (27th), with men 
who profess to have been led to Jesus 
since these special meetings began, and 
with others anxiously seeking. I saw 
many wonderful meetings during the year 
of grace (1859), but I do not think I was 
ever so impressed with the glory and 
beauty of the work of God as when I en- 
tered this meeting toward the close of it. 
It was a sight which would, I think, have 
drawn tears of joy from any heart to see 
upwards of 200 young men, the very flower 
of our youth, one after another acknowl- 
edging the yoke of Jesus. Passing just 
across the street, I entered May Street 
Church, where more than 1,000 men were 
assembled to hear the glad tidings of great 
joy. 

In order that as many as possible might 
have an opportunity of hearing the gospel 
at these special services, admission on 
Tuesday night was by tickets, given only 
to such as had not hitherto heard Mr. 
Moody. About 3,000 tickets were given 
on personal application. It was a season 



78 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



to be remembered. The soil, so to speak, 
was virgin ; the attention so marked as to 
be almost painful in its silence ; the pres- 
ence of God very powerful in the conscious- 
ness of every spiritual mind. The inqui- 
rers at the close of the meeting were spoken 
to, as far as they could be overtaken, in 
adjacent churches, to which the men and 
women were sent respectively. 

The mid-day meeting in Fisherwick 
Place Church still continues. On Wed- 
nesday, Mr. Moody addressed it from Luke 
ii. 7, " There was no room for them in the 
inn." Many who are not reached at other 
places hear the gospel at this hour. It has 
already proved the meeting-place between 
Jesus and many a sinner. 

A great meeting is to be held in the 
Botanic Gardens, October 8th. The vari- 
ous railway companies have agreed to run 
special trains in connection with it. Our 
desire is that God, who has already done 
such great things for us, would be pleased 
to use it to shake mightily Ulster and 
Ireland. We would wish to assemble 
100,000 people to hear the word of God. 
We want Ireland for Christ ! 

As the week advances, the work of God 
deepens and extends. The meetings on 
Wednesday and Thursday, in my judg- 
ment, have exceeded anything we have yet 
experienced. Men and women in great 
numbers are found crowding the " second 
meetings," seeking Jesus. 

It is, at all events, worthy of remark : 
the great contrast in outward manifesta- 
tion between the present work and that 
of 1859. I have not heard of or noticed 
any physical excitement — not even an out- 
cry, much less what were then known as 
" prostrations." 

Another asked prayer for a son who has 
joined the Church of Rome, that he may 
be led back again to the truth as it is in 
Jesus. 

One of the subjects spoken of was the 
willingness of our unseen Head in the 
skies to guide and uphold His members. 
Do we not take care, going along a diffi- 
cult road, to keep our foot from slipping? 
Will He, the Head, take less care to keep 
His member from falling or going a step 
wrong, if that member confidingly trusts 
His guidance ? Let us not forget that the 
guidance He may give may be to go and 
consult with those of riper judgment and 
longer experience in His work. 



VII. 






Sabbath morning (4th) dawned upon us 
very wet and windy. We had fears that it 
would be impossible for the masses of the 
people to meet in the open air ; but a littl 
while before the hour of meeting the rai 
ceased, the sun shone out, and the weathe] 
became most auspicious. Here let me say, 
it has been most noteworthy that, during 
the last weeks, while we have had most in- 
clement weather, every Sabbath-day, and at 
the hour of our great gatherings, it has 
been all that could be desired. 

The number in attendance was fully 
equal to any preceding Sabbath. It may 
give you some idea of the multitude 
if I state that the field on which the 
meeting was held contains about six acres, 
and that the people stood densely packed 
from one end to the other. There was 
profound solemnity. The impression 
upon the hearts of the people by the truth 
in the power of the Spirit was very deep, 
as the sequel will show. 

Mr. Moody held his usual meeting on 
Sabbath evening for those in deep distress 
about salvation, and for those who had 
found eternal life during the past weeks 
through faith in Jesus. The meeting was 
exclusively for men, and admission solely 
by ticket. The hall in which it was held 
was completely filled. Mr. Moody stated 
in the noon-day prayer-meeting on Mon- 
day that, in his judgment, it was the most 
remarkable meeting he has had yet in Europe* 
To God be all the praise ! One after an- 
other of these young men — and they com- 
prise the very flower of our youth— rose, 
and, with clearness and wonderful felicity 
of expression, in burning words, declared 
what God had done for his soul. At 
length, at nine o'clock, the meeting was 
closed. 

Meanwhile another meeting of men was 
assembling in a church. It was already 
very nearly filled when we heard the tread 
of a large company approaching. It was 
a phalanx of these redeemed youths. 
They sang the new song. In a sponta- 
neous burst of praise they were telling 
forth the wonders of redeeming love. No 
language can describe the scene. The 
heavenly echoes of that burst of praise, I 
think, will never be forgotten by any who 
heard it. The meeting that followed, con- 1 
sisting of some two thousand men, I need I 
not say, was one of profound interest — 



, 



BELFAST. 



79 






Jesus in the midst and the marching glori- 
ous. 

During each day of this week and at 
every gathering, more and more of the 
presence of the God of salvation has been 
manifested. Let me in a sentence or two 
describe one, which, in sober language, 
was most wonderful. Mr. Moody ad- 
dressed on Monday evening in Fisherwick 
Place Church, a meeting of men. At the 
close of his address, all who had recently 
been found by the Good Shepherd, and 
also all who were seeking Him, were re- 
quested to retire to the adjoining lecture- 
room. Some six hundred men did so. 
Mr. Moody again sifted them, by request- 
ing that those only who were deeply anx- 
ious to be saved should adjourn to another 
room. Probably nearly three hundred did 
so. In breathless stillness Mr. Moody ad- 
dressed them, very briefly stating that he 
could do no more for them — that they had 
heard the gospel, and that it was for them- 
selves to decide. He called upon them to 
kneel and pray for themselves. They 
bowed as one man, and now here and now 
there might be heard the short cry for 
mercy — a few earnest words of supplica- 
tion ; probably about thirty or forty so cried 
to God one after the other. Surely the 
Lord is in this place! was the thought 
which rose in holy fear in the hearts of all. 

After a short prayer by Mr. Moody, he 
addressed them very faithfully. He again 
held forth Christ, and invited all to rise 
who felt that they could there and then ac- 
cept Jesus. All of that large company, 
save twenty or thirty, stood up, and sol- 
emnly avouched the Lord to be their God. 
This wonderful sight cannot be described. 
The glory of it cannot be realized even 
by those best acquainted with divine 
things. If there is joy in heaven over one 
sinner that repenteth, what shall we say of 
the gladness in the Father's house when 
the prodigals in companies of some two 
hundred enter, as it were, at once ? 

Thursday, October 8, we had fixed for a 
gathering of the masses in the open-air. 
Many had fears for the weather, but 
much prayer in many places over the three 
kingdoms were offered to God for the suc- 
cess of the meeting. God did for us above 
what we asked. The weather was splen- 
did ; everything as regards order and de- 
corum all that any of us could wish. It 
was the largest open-air meeting I ever at- 
tended. I cannot pretend to fix a limit to 
the numbers- He who counts the stars 



knew the history of each present, and what 
were the dealings of his heart with Christ 
and the free offer of His salvation. The 
only regret that seems to be expressed by 
any was, that the services were so short. 

Mr. Moody addressed the vast multitude 
from the words, " I pray thee, have me ex- 
cused." With graphic felicity, great clear- 
ness, and soul-piercing power, he exposed 
the miserable pretences by which sinners 
impose upon themselves in refusing a pres- 
ent offer of present blessedness. The ad- 
dress seemed to strike with convicting 
power many consciences, and, from many 
instances coming under my own observa- 
tion, at the inquiry-meeting in Fisherwick 
Place Church, I have reason to believe in 
salvation power. 



VIII. 

The great gathering in the Botanic 
Gardens on October 8th has been our 
crowning mercy in this season of blessing. 
We feel as if every prayer had been heard 
and every heart gratified by our gracious 
God. As the days pass, and as tidings 
reach us from the country districts all 
around, we continually hear of rich bless- 
ings bestowed and of precious fruits fol- 
lowing. Many carried with them to their 
homes the spark of renewed life. That 
spark has, in some cases, already burnt 
into a blaze. We receive the good news 
from many places of great readiness to 
hear the Word of God, and the cry, 
" Come over and help us," reaches us 
from many quarters. 

Our dear American brethren left us on 
Saturday for Derry. Tidings have reach- 
ed us that a great and effectual door was 
opened unto them in that city. I trust 
some eye-witness will lay before those 
interested an account of the doings of the 
Lord there. Meanwhile, in Belfast, our 
meetings have gone on as usual. The in- 
terest in divine things continues still un- 
abated, many anxiously seeking Jesus, and 
many finding Him as their Refuge and 
Portion. In the Young Men's Meeting, 
held every evening at nine, in Fisherwick 
Place Church, the work of God makes 
great progress. Monday night was espe- 
cially a night of great power. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey returned 
from Derry this morning (Oct. 15) to hold 
their final meeting, ere passing on to Dub- 
lin. Mr. Moody presided at the noon- 



So 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



day prayer-meeting. The subject was, 
" Lessons from the life of Jacob." The 
meeting was one of great interest. The 
meeting in the evening was held in St. 
Enoch's Church. It was exclusively for 
sinners under anxiety of soul, who pro- 
fessed to be earnestly seeking Jesus. Ad- 
mission was by tickets, and that, more- 
over, on personal application. 

Readers may judge of the depth of the 
movement and the measure of awaken- 
ing power upon the souls of men by the 
Spirit of God, when I state that upwards 
of 2,400 persons were so admitted ! It 
was Mr. Moody's last appeal in Belfast to 
the Christless. I may not attempt to de- 
scribe the scene ! He set before the anxious, 
sin-stricken multitude, Jesus in all the 
glory of His sufficiency — in all the attrac- 
tions of His dying love. He showed Him, 
as with one foot upon the threshold of the 
heart He sought admission. Now in faith- 
ful and firm words he warned them of the 
dangers of delay ; and now he gently 
moved them, in tenderness, as one whom 
his mother comforteth. At length he 
ceased speaking, that each might hear, in 
the silence, the voice of Jesus pleading 
directly. And in the awful stillness of 
that moment many of that great company 
of seeking sinners, I trust, were able to 
say in words expressive of soul-submission, 
" Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." 

I think it must have been the most not- 
able meeting in the experience of Mr. 
Moody. 1 do not at present remember to 
have read of any such meeting, as regards 
the number of the awakened, in modern 
times. Does it not seem like a return of 
Pentecostal power, when 3,000 were simi- 
larly smitten with soul-concern ? 

Oct 17. — Yesterday was the concluding 
day of the labors of our beloved brethren. 
The noon-day prayer-meeting was crowd- 
ed- The great multitude was moved deep- 
ly with contending feelings — of joy in 
God and gratitude for all He had done for 
so many of them through the labors of His 
servants ; of sorrow because they should 
see their faces no more till the resurrec- 
tion morn. The meeting commended 
them to the grace of God, beseeching the 
God of all grace to bestow a fresh bap- 
tism upon them of power for their work in 
Dublin. 



At the two o'clock meeting in Fisher- 
wick Place Church, Mr. Moody chose as 
his subject — The gift of the Holy Ghost 
as a Baptism of power for witnessing and 
work. As he spoke of power, the Spirit 
of might seemed to descend upon him. 

The meeting in the evening was for the 
young converts — for all who have reason 
to believe that they had found Jesus since 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey came to Bel- 
fast. Admission was strictly by ticket. 
These tickets were only given on personal 
application. About two thousand one hun- 
di^ed and fifty tickets were given ! What a 
rich harvest ! How soon gathered ! The 
result of some five weeks' work ! I have 
good reason to believe that even this num- 
ber fell very far short of the whole num- 
ber who profess to have received Jesus as 
the gift of God. 

It was a soul-stirring sight to see that 
vast multitude, including the Christian 
workers and ministers, numbering more 
than 3,000. It was like the sound of many 
waters to hear this multitude sing the new 
song. As all stood and sung in one burst 
of praise — 

" O happy day that fixed my choice 
On Thee, my Saviour and my God," 

the effect was overpowering, filling the 
soul with a sweet foretaste of the praises 
of heaven. 

Mr. Moody's last word of comfort and 
encouragement was founded on Rom. xiv. 
4, " God is able to make him stand." He 
closed his address by commending all the 
new-born souls " to Him who is able to 
keep you from falling." Hundreds of 
men not used to a melting mood, with 
weeping eyes and heaving bosoms, heard 
him say, as he concluded, " Good-night ; 
we shall meet in the morning when the 
shadows flee away." 

A very touching incident in the service 
was the singing, by Mr. Sankey, of a hymn 
composed by a dying youth in Belfast, " Is 
there room ? they say there is room !" 

The work of God has begun in a strik- 
ing manner in many places around Belfast. 
We are confidently expecting that it will 
quickly and widely spread. The high 
mountain, before prayer, will become a 
plain. 



THE WORK IN LONDONDERRY. 



One of the most satisfactory features of 
the visit has been the unanimity and cor- 
diality with which the ministers of all de- 
nominations not only joined in the origi- 
nal invitation to Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey, but also assisted in the further- 
ance of the work during the present week. 
Presbyterian, Wesleyan, and Independent 
seemed to have but one object and one 
desire — to make the work of revival 
among the people as general and wide- 
spread as possible. The original request 
to Messrs. Moody and Sankey emanated 
some months ago from the committee of 
the weekly mid-day prayer-meeting, in 
conjunction with the Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association. All the ministers who 
were asked to put their churches at the 
disposal of the committee intimated their 
willingness to do so. The First Presby- 
terian Church, however, was selected for 
holding the meetings, for no other reason 
than that it was the largest, and therefore 
best able to accommodate the large num- 
bers likely to be present. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey arrived in 
Derry from Belfast on Saturday evening, 
and commenced their labors on Sunday, 
the nth, with the same spirit of energy 
and enthusiasm which carried them 
through so much in Belfast. Mr. Moody 
exhibited little trace of hard work or 
fatigue, though for some weeks past he 
has gone through an amount of mental 
and physical toil under which many men 
would have completely broken down. 
There were the same freshness and vigor, 
the same fertility of illustration and point- 
ed application, the same earnestness and 
simplicity, the same zeal and enthusiasm, 
and the same intense desire to win souls 
for his Master. Three services on the 
Sabbath, and the same number on each of 
the following three days of the week, with 
inquiry-meetings each evening, has been 
his programme here, and he never seemed 
to fail either in body or mind. He ap- 
peared conscious of the shortness of his 
visit, and seemed to grow more earnest in 
consequence. 

While Mr. Moody faithfully presented 
the gospel, Mr. Sankey was no less faith- 



ful in his lessons in song. He was so ad- 
mirably assisted by a local choir as to 
draw a special eulogium from Mr. Moody 
at one of the noon meetings. He said he 
had heard a great many choirs assist at 
these meetings, but he had never yet heard 
one which sang so sweetly and so well as 
the one which had been organized to assist 
in singing the praises of God in London- 
derry. On the same occasion he referred 
to the importance of the Church paying 
greater attention to the subject of praise. 
Some were only for singing the psalms, 
but he thought they should also sing 
"new songs." Anew hymn was just as 
good as a sermon. They could sing the 
gospel into many a man's heart. He 
hoped the Church would feel alive to its 
duty in this matter of praise, and not be 
hindered by prejudice, which is the twin 
sister of unbelief. 

The opening meeting was intended for 
Christian workers, and Mr. Moody dwelt 
especially on the subject of Christian work, 
and gave some earnest and practical coun- 
sel. On the same day two meetings were 
held in the First Presbyterian Church, one. 
at four and the other at eight o'clock. 
The ordinary congregational services were 
conducted in the church at twelve o'clock, 
without, of course, any instrumental ac- 
companiment in the praise. At both 
special services the church was crowded 
to overflowing, and the gates had to be 
closed half an hour before the commence- 
ment of the service. Indeed, at the even- 
ing meeting, the church was filled at seven 
o'clock, the people crowding in such num- 
bers to the service. Overflowing meetings 
were held in the Wesleyan Chapel, and 
were pretty well attended, though better 
in the evening than in the afternoon. 

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 
three services were held each day, includ- 
ing one children's service. Owing to the 
heavy downpour of rain on Monday, the 
church was not so well filled as on the 
other days, when the congregations were 
very large ; but on each evening fully 
2,000 found accommodation in the church, 
filling it from floor to ceiling, while the 
hundreds unable to gain admittance went 



82 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



to the Wesleyan Chapel, where they were 
suitably addressed. The concluding meet- 
ing on Wednesday evening was especially 
large, and the services particularly solemn. 

With regard to the audiences, they were 
thoroughly representative. Young and 
old of all classes, not only of the inhabit- 
ants of Derry, but of the surrounding dis- 
tricts, for miles around, attended. Excur- 
sion trains on the Irish North-Western 
Railway and Northern Counties Railway 
brought many into the town, while hun- 
dreds walked and drove many miles, in 
order to be present at the meetings. The 
attendances steadily increased to the close, 
and as the last of the services approached, 
there seemed to be a general expression of 
regret on the part of all interested. A 
noticeable incident in connection with the 
meetings was the large number of clergy- 
men who were present at them. 

The prevailing characteristic of all the 
meetings was intense earnestness and so- 



lemnity, but without any undue excite- 
ment. The services seemed to awaken 
the liveliest interest in the public mind, 
and to produce a marked impression. The 
inquiry-meetings after the first night were 
well attended, large numbers of both sexes 
remaining for conversation and prayer 
with Mr. Moody and the Christian workers 
who were admitted (by ticket) to converse 
with the anxious. In this respect every 
precaution was taken that none but duly 
qualified persons should be admitted. The 
time occupied at these meetings was brief, 
but the addresses and conversations earnest 
and impressive. The upper room was set 
apart for female inquirers, and the lower 
schoolroom for males. These meetings 
are described by those who were present 
as having been of a most interesting char- 
acter. 

Arrangements have been made for con- 
tinuing a twelve o'clock prayer- meeting, 
and a meeting at eight o'clock p.m. daily. 



THE WORK IN DUBLIN. 



I. 

Dublin, Oct. 2^th. — At last the prayers 
of many of God's dear children are being 
answered by the coming amongst us of 
these honored servants of our Lord. And 
to-day we take a slight retrospect of our 
week's prayer and praise, and work for the 
gracious Lord. 

A general prayer-meeting, preparatory 
to commencing these special evangelistic 
services, was held in the Metropolitan 
Hall, on Saturday, the 17th. It was quite 
full, though capable of accommodating 
more that 2,000 people. As one looked 
over that large assembly, composed of 
members of all the evangelical denomina- 
tions of the city, and observed the spirit 
of unity as well as of earnestness and de- 
votion that prevailed, one could not but 
feel that we had entered upon a new phase 
of religious life, and that brighter days are 
dawning upon Ireland. 

For the first time and in connection 
with this movement have we seen the 
clergy of all the evangelical churches 
working cordially together, without the 
least shade of envy or party spirit, all feel- 



ing that they are workers in the same holy 
cause, children of the same Father, ser- 
vants of the same gracious Master. 

It is right to remark that for many 
months past we have had in the Metro- 
politan Hall a weekly union prayer- 
meeting, in which ministers of the various 
churches have taken part. Indeed, I be- 
lieve Mr. Moody requires this, and that he 
declines to visit any place unless there has 
been previously much intercessory prayer. 
Thank God, it was so here, and we are al- 
ready receiving answers to the prayer, the 
first droppings of those rich showers of 
blessings for which we look. 

The committee of management procured 
the Exhibition Palace for holding these 
services, the largest and most commodious 
building which has yet, in Europe, been 
placed at Mr. Moody's disposal. On Sun- 
day last the Christians of Dublin witnessed 
a sight to gladden their hearts. It has 
been estimated that, at the first service at 
four o'clock, from twelve to fifteen thousand 
persons were gathered there. Never be- 
fore was it put to so blessed a use. 

Mr. Moody addressed the vast con- 
course from the text, " Go ye into all the 






DUBLIN. 



83 



world and preach the gospel to every 
creature " (Mark xvi. 16). The audience 
was greatly impressed by the discourse, as 
also by Mr. Sankey singing that affecting 
hymn, " Jesus of Nazareth passeth by." 

Every day during the week there was a 
prayer-meeting at noon in the Metropoli- 
tan Hall, which on each occasion was fill- 
ed to overflowing. 

On Monday Mr. Moody presided, and 
spoke very forcibly on the importance and 
power of prayer. It was my happy privi- 
lege, as a minister of the Irish Church, to 
preside on Tuesday, and in the name of 
very many of the Christian people of 
Dublin, to offer our dear fellow-laborers a 
hearty welcome. On Wednesday the Rev. 
F. Dowling (Bethesda Chapel) took the 
chair, and spoke with much power on 
" Christian Hope." The Rev. J. Fleming 
Stevenson (Presbyterian) acted as chair- 
man on Thursday, and brought out with 
much effect some incidents in Joshua's 
life. On Friday Mr. Moody again pre- 
sided, and was listened to with deep atten- 
tion. To-day Rev. Edward Best (Wes- 
leyan) spoke with much unction and feel- 
ing upon " Prayer for Children." On 
these occasions Mr. Moody and several 
clergymen and lay brethren led the con- 
gregation in prayer. Many went away 
deeply solemnized, and thanking God for 
that " sweet hour of prayer." 

At the services in the Exhibition build- 
ing, the weather being beautifully fine, the 
attendance increased each succeeding 
evening. On Monday evening, and again 
on Tuesday evening, Mr. Moody spoke 
of Jesus coming " to seek and to save 
that which was lost," interspersing his dis- 
course with many forcible illustrations. 
The following evening his subject was the 
powerlessness of the Law to save, and then 
he set forth Jesus as the only and all-suffi- 
cient Saviour. Thursday and Friday 
evenings were devoted to showing the ne- 
cessity of Spiritual Regeneration 



II. 

We have never before seen such sights in 
Dublin as we have seen this last week, night 
after night, at the Exhibition Palace. It is 
estimated to hold 10,000 persons. Every 
night it is filled, and the attention and 
silence is wonderful. One feels that the 
Spirit of God is present, and that " a wave 
of prayer " is continually going up to the 
throne from the Lord's people. 



The second week of this visit has now 
nearly come to a close ; and when the vis- 
its of kings and princes have been forgot- 
ten, this will be remembered by many, 
even through all eternity, for the gospel so 
faithfully preached by Mr. Moody, and so 
sweetly sung by Mr. Sankey. 

Thank God, every day reveals a growing 
interest on the part of the public at large 
in their evangelistic labors. Every day 
their work is extending, widening, and 
deepening. The inhabitants of Dublin 
are becoming alive to the fact that we are 
now in the enjoyment of a great " time of 
refreshing," and that our gracious God is 
working powerfully amongst us by the in- 
strumentality of these His honored ser- 
vants. 

Such a sight has never before been wit- 
nessed here as may now be seen every day 
— thousands flocking to the prayer-meet- 
ing and the Bible-meeting, and most of all 
to the evening services in the great Exhi- 
bition Palace. It is a sight to fill the heart 
of the child of God with deepest emotion 
to stand upon the platform erected in that 
building, from which Mr. Moody preaches, 
and to cast one's eye over the vast con- 
course of people, hanging on the speaker's 
lips, as in burning words he discourses of 
life and death, heaven and hell, " Jesus, 
and His love ," and one cannot but ask the 
question, " What is the magic power which 
draws together those mighty multitudes, 
and holds* them spell-bound ?" Is it the 
worldly rank, or wealth, or learning, or ora- 
tory of the preacher ? No ; for he is pos- 
sessed of but little of these (spiritually, 
indeed, he is richly endowed with them 
all.) It is the simple lifting up of the cross 
of Christ — the holding forth the Lord Jesus 
before the eyes of the people in all the 
glory of His Godhead, in all the simplicity 
of His manhood, in all the perfection of 
His nature, for their admiration, for their 
adoration, and for their acceptance. 

As an Episcopalian minister, I am most 
thankful to see so many of the dear breth- 
ren of my own church, as well as of the 
other evangelical churches, attending and 
taking part in these happy services. 

One dear brother, an able and godly 
minister, stated a day or two ago that, by 
attendance at these services, he seemed to 
have " returned to the freshness of his spir- 
itual youth." 

This is the outline of the past week's 
work. On Saturday evening, at the ser- 
vice in the Exhibition building, Mr. 



8 4 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 






Moody entered into a defense of his cus- 
tom of holding meetings for inquirers after 
each service, and proved, in answer to ob- 
jectors, that he had abundant Scriptural 
warrant for so doing. 

* On Sunday morning, at eight o'clock, 
there was a meeting for prayer of the work- 
ers connected with this good cause. Mr. 
Moody addressed them, and spoke many 
kind words of encouragement. The 
afternoon service in the Exhibition Palace 
on the same day was densely crowded, 
from 8,000 to 10,000 persons being present. 
Mr. Moody preached a stirring sermon 
from St. Luke, 4th chapter, 18th verse. 
The whole audience seemed deeply affected 
by the sermon, as also by that touching 
hymn, " The Ninety and Nine." 

At the noon prayer-meeting on Monday 
at the Metropolitan Hall, the subject was, 
" Work for Christ." Mr. Moody gave 
some striking instances of awakening which 
came under his own observation in the 
inquiry-room during the past week. The 
Rev. Dr. Marrable (Episcopalian) also 
supplied some interesting facts, as did also 
the Rev. Mr. Wilson, president of the 
Primitive Wesleyan Conference. The Rev. 
Dr. Craig told of an officer of rank and 
position, who was one of the first to scale 
the walls of Delhi, and who, though he 
was in Scotland during the sojourn there 
of the American evangelists, yet never 
attended their services, but who was in- 
duced to do so here last week, and the 
result was that he found a joy and peace 
in his soul which he had never before 
known. These are only a few out of very 
many instances that might be mentioned. 
To God be all the praise ! 

All .the services have been largely at- 
tended; indeed, the numbers seemed to 
increase from day to day. 

I would specially call the attention of 
your Dublin readers to the Bible-reading 
at two o'clock each day in the Metropoli- 
tan Hall. There indeed is a feast of fat 
things prepared for them. It is deeply 
instructive to see the " things new and 
old " which he draws in rich profusion 
from the treasury of God's Word. May 
God bless him, and make him a blessing 
to thousands ! 



III. 

"Thank God for sending Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey to Dublin." Such, I 
am persuaded, is the expression of the 



feeling in the hearts of thousands in our 
city to-day ; and why should it not be so 
when many are pressing into the kingdom 
of God ? How many families are rejoic- 
ing in prodigals returned, drunkards re- 
claimed, blasphemers silenced, the careless 
aroused, the lost restored, sinners convert- 
ed, and, in a word, Jesus received into the 
hearts and homes of many ! But some 
may be ready to ask, " Why should this be 
so now more than ever? Was not the 
Lord as ready to do this heretofore as 
now ? Is His arm ever shortened that He 
cannot save?" We answer, "True; but 
though God is Sovereign, and does all 
things according to the good pleasure of 
His will, we can ourselves see reasons for 
the present success." 

In the first place, it is in answer to 
prayer. God's dear children in England, 
Scotland, America, and elsewhere, as well 
as amongst ourselves, are praying for a 
blessing on Dublin and Ireland. Now 
we know that our God delights to hear 
and to answer prayer. Blessed be His 
name ! that answer is even now being 
given. 

In the second place, God has wonder- 
fully fitted these His servants for the work 
He has given them to do. It is to be 
feared that there is a want of directness, if 
not of earnestness, in our preaching. Now 
the great characteristics of Mr. Moody's 
preaching, as Professor Blaikie, of Edin- 
burgh, has well expressed it, " are direct- 
ness, earnestness, and naturalness," or, as a 
beloved brother in Dublin described it, 
" He does not wait for the end of his ser- 
mon to make the application, but the Bible 
in his hands is a quiver, and every passage 
to which he refers is an arrow, which 
the Holy Ghost accompanying, he shoots 
home straight to the hearts of his hearers." 

The use of the inquiry-room. I am 
aware that here I am treading on delicate 
ground. I know that many ministers and 
others, either object entirely to the inquiry- 
room, or are uncertain about it. I had, at 
first, the same difficulties myself ; but from 
what I have lately seen, I am satisfied it is 
of great importance to speak, if possible, 
with each anxious inquirer, while the gos- 
pel is still ringing in his ears — while his 
heart is softened, and his conscience ten- 
der. In this way we come to know what 
are those doubts, and fears, and difficul- 
ties which are keeping the poor sinner 
from Christ. 

I regret that I cannot now (Nov. 7) 



D UBLIN. 



85 



enter into many details of the work for 
the next week. I must content myself 
with saying, in general, that all the "ser- 
vices have been carried on as usual, the 
attendance well kept up. Indeed, the 
number seems to increase from day to 
day, and visitors are coming to Dublin 
from all parts of Ireland to attend these 
services. 

The Bible-reading in the Metropolitan 
Hall, on Friday, the 30th ult, was con- 
ducted by Mr. Moody. It was, as usual, 
densely crowded. The subject was " As- 
surance," and he showed from many Scrip- 
tures that it is the privilege of the child of 
God to know that he is passed from death 
unto life, that he hath eternal life abiding 
in him. 

At the Exhibition service on Sunday, 
Nov. 1 st, the crowds were enormous — a 
most solemn stillness pervaded that vast 
audience of some 10,000 souls as the 
preacher gave a connected and most 
graphic account of the history of our 
blessed Lord from the hour of His betrayal 
by Judas to His resurrection and ascen- 
sion to the Father's right hand. And he 
dwelt forcibly on the fact that Christians 
do not worship a dead, but a living, Christ, 
One who ever liveth to make intercession 
for sinners. 

On Thursday and Friday, at the Bible- 
reading, Mr. Moody spoke upon the per- 
son, work, and offices of the Holy Ghost. 
He strongly urged the necessity of the 
Spirit's anointing for service for Christ as 
well as for conversion, which should be 
sought for by continual prayer. 

But we are sadly reminded that Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey cannot stay always 
with us ; like the Master whom they serve, 
they must visit other cities also — Liver- 
pool, Manchester, etc., and London. If 
my words could reach the ministers — 
especially those of the sister Church of 
England — laboring in those great cities, I 
would earnestly bespeak for our American 
brethren a kindly reception at their hands. 
I would say, Lay aside all prejudice as 
unjust and unwarranted. Receive them 
cordially. Trust them. Help them with 
your prayers and hearty co-operation. 
They are men of God. The Spirit of 
God rests upon them. The love of God 
animates them. They go to help you and 
not to hinder you in your work; not to 
make proselytes to any sect or denomina- 
tion, but to gather in souls to Christ. 
Their motto with regard to this is, " Let 



every man abide in the same calling where- 
in he was called." You will find that you 
will be greatly refreshed in your own 
souls. In the effect both upon yourselves 
and your flocks, you will have abundant 
reason to bless God for sending them to 
you. 

IV. 

Before the children's meeting to-day 
in the Exhibition building (Mr. Moody 
was taking some needed rest), I asked Mr. 
Sankey how he thought the work was get- 
ting on in Dublin. " Oh !" he said, " it is 
getting just like Edinburgh. The bless- 
ing is becoming like a great wave. It's 
easy working now." 

For some time, notwithstanding the 
huge crowds, our brethren felt that they 
were not reaping heavy sheaves as they 
had done elsewhere. But the conviction 
grows upon us that the " set time " to 
favor us has come. The work is deepening 
and widening every day. In many fami- 
lies with which I am intimately acquainted, 
one or more of the members have hope- 
fully turned unto the Lord. I know cases 
in which I may say the whole family has 
been brought to seek salvation as the one 
thing needful. It is very observable, too, 
how previously existing prejudice has 
abated, or entirely disappeared, at least in 
the case of those who manifest any re- 
spect for religion. There are, of course, 
scoffers not a few. But it is truly a mat- 
ter of astonishment in a city like this, that 
there is so little of open resistance or even 
of ridicule. 

Our Roman Catholic brethren, as a rule, 
have acted a noble part. They have been 
respectful ; and, to a certain extent, sympa- 
thizing. In this week's number of the Na- 
tion — an organ at once of National (as it is 
called) and Ultramontane principles — an 
article has appeared, entitled, " Fair Play!" 
which is exceedingly creditable, and which 
indicates the advent of a new day in Ire- 
land. The editor informs his constituents 
that " the deadly danger of the age comes 
upon us from the direction of Huxley and 
Darwin and Tyndall, rather than from 
Moody and Sankey. Irish Catholics de- 
sire to see Protestants deeply imbued with 
religious feeling, rather than tinged with 
rationalism and infidelity ; and as long as 
the religious services of our Protestant 
neighbors are honestly directed to quick- 
ening religious thought in their own body, 



&6 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



without offering aggressive or intentional 
insult to us, it is our duty to pay the hom- 
age of our respect to their conscientious 
convictions ; in a word, to do as we would 
be done by" (The italics are the Nation's?) 
It would surely be a bright and blessed 
day for our country, if this spirit of mutual 
respect and toleration were everywhere 
honestly acted out amongst us. Mr. 
Moody never makes controversial refer- 
ence to others. His success in attracting 
the favorable attention of our brethren of 
a different faith, has been unexampled in 
the history of our city. 

One very marked feature in the move- 
ment is the number of men that are in- 
fluenced. Many people, have remarked 
the large proportion of them that are in- 
quiring. 

A few nights ago an old gentleman, 
more than seventy years of age, threw 
himself down on his knees and sobbed 
like a child. He said, " I was utterly care- 
less about my soul till last night, but I 
have been so unhappy since, I could not 
sleep. I seemed to hear ringing in my 
ears, ' Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,' 
and if I don't get saved now I never shall 
be." 

Already the influence of this work has 
begun to tell upon the most remote dis- 
tricts of the country. Parties of thirty, 
fifty, sixty, etc., are being organized from 
the most distant parts to Dublin. Many 
of these carry back with them much bless- 
ing. We hear of the young converts wit- 
nessing for Christ fearlessly in the trains 
on their way home from their meetings. 
" The Lord hath done great things for us, 
whereof we are glad." But we expect 
greater things still. I am fully confident, 
from all the indications I see, that next 
week will be likely greatly to surpass the 
previous delightful weeks we have had. 
The memory of these blessed meetings in 
the Metropolitan Hall and the Exhibition 
building, will long, yea, will ever be fra- 
grant in our hearts. I do not think we had 
ever such an antepast of heaven. 

The Public Breakfast given to Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey yesterday morning, 
was, in every way, a wonderful meeting. 
I heard nearly all to whom I spoke on the 
subject, say that it was the happiest re- 
union they ever attended. It was a truly 
catholic gathering. Eminent men among 
us, under the influence of deep emotion, 
bore testimony to the spiritual good they 
had received at the meetings. Ministers 



testified of the instruction and quickening 
that had come to them. 

No men — ministers, evangelists or others 
— ever before brought a more interested 
assembly around them in Dublin than 
these honored servants of the Lord did 
yesterday morning in the Shelbourne 
Hotel. And yet it is not Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey, but the Christ they preach 
and sing. It is Christ lifted up that 
draws all men unto Him. Oh, that we 
might all learn that we have here the true 
and only uniting power for Ireland. 



V. 



THE BREAKFAST AT THE SHELBOURNE 
.. HOTEL. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey were enter- 
tained at a public breakfast on Friday 
morning by a large number of clergymen, 
and professional and mercantile gentle- 
men of all religious denominations, who 
embraced that opportunity of expressing 
their confidence in them, and their sym- 
pathies with the evangelistic services con- 
ducted by them in Dublin. Two of the 
largest rooms in the Shelbourne Hotel 
were completely filled by the company, 
which numbered about two hundred. 
The object the gathering evidently had 
in view was the encouragement of Chris- 
tian unity, which every speaker in the 
course of the proceedings warmly advo- 
cated, in the belief that it is especially 
needful at the present time, and essential 
to the further spread of the gospel in this 
country. Messrs. Moody and Sankey were 
warmly welcomed by those present, who 
unmistakably felt that the opportunity 
which presented itself on the occasion for 
initiating so great an evidence of superi- 
ority to sectarianism was one to be gladly 
appropriated. The company was thor- 
oughly representative in its character, 
both clerical and lay. 

Sir Edw. Synge Hutchinson, chairman, 
called on Rev. Edw. Nangle, of Achill, an 
aged clergyman of the Church of Ireland, 
who offered prayer, in which he thanked 
God that we are being drawn out of our 
sectarianism, which is the great error and 
vice of our fallen nature ; and Rev. Ham- 
ilton Magee, who followed, said that many 
prophets and righteous men have desired 
to see the things we see, and to hear 
what we hear, and saw and heard them 
not. 



Z> UBLIN. 



87 



The Chairman then introduced the 
speakers in a few very appropriate remarks, 
in which he said that the efforts of Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey had his entire confi- 
dence. He thanked them for coming over 
from America, and believed they had done 
a great work in Dublin. He hoped the 
effects would be visible after their visit 
came to a close, in a greater evidence of 
Christian unity among all denominations 
of Christians in Ireland. The spirit of 
unity and concord which had been brought 
about was delightful, and he thanked God 
every day for it, adding, " Let us be all 
out-and-out for Christ." 

Rev. W. Fleming Stevenson : If we are 
here to welcome the two men of God who 
have visited our city, our welcome is but 
a shallow thing after all r and it comes 
rather late, for already their time of de- 
parture draws nigh. We are in the midst 
of a great spiritual movement, which has 
shown itself not only in Dublin, but 
throughout the land, in mission weeks, 
and many other ways; but has gathered 
most of its force around our two brethren 
who are with us to-day. There are signs 
of such a spiritual movement as we have 
never seen before. Everywhere, in tram- 
cars and omnibuses, on the street, and in 
the social circle, one inquiry is uppermost, 
" Have you been hearing of the Lord 
Jesus Christ ? " In one small town, a long 
way from Dublin, a party of thirty was 
formed to come up to these meetings, and 
their report brought a second party of 
sixty. From Cork, and Limerick, and 
other places also, visitors come. Never 
was there a meeting in Dublin so repre- 
sentative as this. Now what are we to 
do ? When these men leave, what is to 
become of the work to which they have 
given such an impulse ? Having been 
lifted up by this advancing wave, are we 
to let another wave put us back into our 
respective niches ? or are we to seek such 
a baptism of the Holy Spirit as shall knit 
us together in the work of God ? Surely 
it does not seem impossible that there 
should be such a unity as shall end in the 
entire bringing of our people to the Lord. 
Has not our oneness with Christ another 
side ? Does He not say to us, Have you 
no sympathy with Me ? Will you not 
gather together with one another round 
Me, in sympathy with Me ? Long after 
Mr. Moody and Mr. Sankey have return- 
ed to America, may they have the joy of 
hearing that Christians in Ireland are still 



united in love and work. Prayer is to us 
now' a reality. We pray, and get the 
answer while we pray. People coming to 
these meetings unconverted have been 
saved while prayer was being made for 
them. One thing more. This work is 
carried on in entire sympathy with the 
ministers of the Church of Christ. Can 
we not continue banded together in one, 
so that Jesus Christ shall be glorified in 
our oneness in work and spirit ? 

Mr. Moody said that was the first meet- 
ing of the kind he had ever attended. In 
a number of places it had been suggested 
to hold meetings for the promotion of 
unity, and quite a number had pressed him 
and Mr. Sankey to have conferences to 
talk about Christian unity; but the one 
principle upon which they started was, that 
they would preach Jesus Christ, believing 
that He would draw His people together. 
People had asked him how they had got 
so many ministers of different denomina- 
tions into the movement ; his answer was, 
that they had done nothing about it. They 
had just tried to hold up Christ, and to 
talk of Him only, knowing that if that did 
not make friends rally round them, nothing 
else would. The question had been asked, 
" What was to be done to keep up Chris- 
tian unity?" He would tell them. Keep 
preaching Christ, and don't talk about 
their church, or creed, or doctrine, and 
then people would be attracted to them as 
sure as iron filings to a magnet. By this 
should all men know that they were 
Christ's disciples, that they loved one an- 
other. He hoped they would preach 
Christ simply, treating men not as of this 
denomination or that, but as sinners. He 
would leave them one word, " Advance." 
When General Grant, after a career of vic- 
tory in the West, was put in command of 
the Potomac Army, which had been before 
invariably defeated, he was asked to re- 
treat. Retreat had been the constant 
word, and at his council of war all his com- 
manders were in favor of falling back; 
but he remained silent, and an hour after, 
the army were astonished to receive from 
him the command, " Advance in solid 
column at daybreak." This was his coun- 
sel to them. They might have their differ- 
ences, but there was the one foe, and they 
should advance in solid column upon the 
common enemy. 

Mr. Sankey said he blessed God for hav- 
ing been permitted to come with his 
brother to that land of Ireland. He knew 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



.. 



many of their countrymen in his own land, 
and he loved them dearly. He prayed 
that the blessed unity which he had wit- 
nessed might continue. He believed that 
many dear men who were still outside 
the movement would be drawn into it. He 
knew of some who would be glad to come 
in ; but they had their prejudices, and 
these should be respected ; mistakes had 
been made in evangelical movements, 
which to some extent might account for 
this. Mr. Sankey then sang with deep 
feeling the hymn, " Here am I, send me, 
send me." 

Dr. Craig (Irish Church) spoke under 
a sense of the most solemn responsibility. 
How was this most wonderful work to be 
carried on ? He thanked God and Mr. 
Moody that he had been revived in his 
own soul, and he knew that old veterans 
had again taken their swords to fight the 
Lord's battles. He knew a man who, four- 
teen days ago, was an infidel, but had now 
found the Saviour, and had brought three 
others, who had also been saved. He had 
seen a young lady the other day the pic- 
ture of despair, now with a face shining 
like an angel. A second Reformation was 
taking place among their dear Roman 
Catholic friends. An experienced Chris- 
tian had said to him that when these men 
were gone, the work would fall to pieces 
like a rope of sand ; but he believed it 
would be far otherwise, for God had given 
the spirit of unity. Dr. Craig went on to 
make some suggestions as to means for 
continuing the work. 

Lord James Butler said that to say he 
sympathized with this movement was un- 
necessary, for all there were met to give 
expression to that feeling. All should 
thank God that He had raised up men al- 
most literally to preach the gospel to all 
nations. They must thank God for rais- 
ing up other men to organize, and arrange, 
and take places for these meetings. He 
also thanked God for the blessing to his 
own soul through the teaching of these 
His servants. This work must not cease 
after their departure. May God himself 
suggest the means, for all our plans would 
be vain without Him. It may again be 
said, in the words of one of England's 
martyrs, " A flame has been lit in Britain, 
which, by the help of God, shall never be 
put out." 

Rev. W. Best (Wesleyan) spoke of God's 
gracious provision of a most suitable build- 
ing, a valuable committee, a matchless sec- 



retary, and a chairman of such Christian 
spirit. He believed the work was only be- 
ginning; he had a profound conviction 
that the time to bless Ireland had come. 
Some of the work done by their brethren 
had already gone before them to America, 
in souls saved at these meetings. 

Rev. F. Dowling (Irish Church), a man 
of learning, and whose expositions of Scrip- 
ture are a marked feature of his ministry, 
said it gave him sincere pleasure to add his 
testimony to this work. He had read in 
the papers about the great meetings in 
Scotland and in Belfast, and had made it 
a subject of prayer that God would give 
a like blessing in Dublin. Now he had 
seen and heard these brethren sing and 
preach, and he felt far more deeply the 
blessedness of the work. Never in the 
past history of their country had there been 
such a vindication of evangelic truth. 
The great power was the pure and simple 
doctrine of the cross. Jesus said, " I, if 
I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me," 
and in the doctrine of the cross He was 
still lifted up, and men are drawn to Him. 
If one thing more than another had struck 
him, it was the honor given to the Per- 
sonal Word in heaven, and to the written 
Word on earth, anpl also to that which is 
the great mediating power between God 
and His people, the Holy Ghost. When 
the Word of God is honored, and the Holy 
Spirit is honored, there must be great 
blessing. These men do not make much 
of themselves. I thank God they came, 
and pray that, when they are gone, we 
shall continue to work, and not separate 
into positions of isolation. I met a gen- 
tleman of great intellectual power at these 
meetings, whom I hardly expected to find 
there. He said that, as Mr. Sankey was 
singing, he found the criticism going off at 
the ends of his fingers. It seemed as 
though the Bible were to Mr. Moody a 
great quiver, from which he drew out ar- 
row after arrow, fitted it to the string, and 
shot it right to the heart ; he did not keep 
the application till the end. He thanked 
God for the lessons he had learned 
as well as for the personal influence 
exercised upon himself. Everything is 
greater in America than here — higher 
mountains, broader rivers; it seemed to 
him we had seen also the American energy 
and largeness of these men's faith. May 
God plant deep in our souls to give our- 
selves in unreserved surrender to carry on 
this work, while our dear brethren are 



DUBLIN. 



89 



doing the same in other, and, it may be, 
distant places. 

David Drummond, Esq., gave a most 
satisfactory account of his treasurership. 
He had only asked two friends for help, 
but he had asked God, and the money had 
come in, in large and small amounts, from 
all parts, until they had almost all they re- 
quired. 

Rev. Mr. Wilson (Primitive Methodist) 
said that, in all his spiritual life, he never 
felt so near heaven as to-day. Souls in 
his own family had been blessed, and his 
own soul had been revived. He should 
be sorry to think this great movement had 
reached its crisis ; the drops had come, 
the showers would follow. There is a 
river 1 clear as crystal, flowing from the 
throne of God and the Lamb. When, in 
one of our great battles, the Guards were 
falling by hundreds, and were entreated 
to surrender, they replied, " The Guards 
die, but never surrender." This must be 
our motto, " Hold the fort ; for Jesus is 
coming." 

Lord Carrick read Phil. iii. 20, 21, and 
spoke of the heavenly citizenship of be- 
lievers, and the change of these bodies of 
humiliation into likeness to His glorious 
body, at the coming of the Lord Jesus. 
He also reiterated the desire expressed 
by every speaker for the maintenance of 
unity in heart and labor for Christ. 

Brief addresses were then delivered by 
the Hon. H. Rowley, Revs. Hamilton 
Magee, Dr. Marrable, Dr. Neligan, C. 
Nangle, and Mr. Hugh Brown, and the 
company then dispersed, the proceedings, 
which commenced at nine o'clock, having 
been brought to a conclusion about twelve. 



VI. 

The fifth week of Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey's happy visit to Dublin has now 
drawn to a close, their unceasing labors 
nearly concluded, and we are now in a 
position to speak with confidence both of 
the men and their work. 

I. THE SERVICES IN THE GREAT EXHIBI- 
TION PALACE. 

These have been most wonderfully suc- 
cessful. On Sunday last the crowds that 
flowed from all parts of the city and sub- 
urbs exceeded anything ever before wit- 
nessed in Dublin upon any occasion, or 
for any purpose. One of the morning 



papers estimated the numbers present as 
high as 20,000, but it seems within the 
mark to say 15,000, and well rewarded 
they were for coming. Very marked was 
the stillness which reigned throughout that 
vast assembly. We cannot but regard this 
as an answer to prayer ; for let it be con- 
sidered that the doors are thrown open 
for all to enter, no charge for admittance. 
How easy would it be for a few evil-dis- 
posed persons to disturb the meeting ! 
Yet God has, in His goodness, restrained 
them, and in answer to prayer : for Mr. 
Moody's continual prayer in the commit- 
tee-room, before ascending the platform, 
has been, " O God, keep the people still ; 
hold the meeting in Thy hand." On each 
succeeding evening of the week the num- 
bers seem to steadily increase ; but on last 
night they reached their highest point for 
a week-evening, when the building was 
quite as full as on former Sundays. 

II. THE NOON-DAY PRAYER-MEETINGS 

have continued without any abatement, 
either in the numbers attending, or in the 
interest in the proceedings. It is a novel 
sight in Dublin, but a most gratifying one, 
to see from 2,000 to 3,000 persons leaving 
the comfort and retirement of their homes, 
to enjoy together the hour of prayer. Sev- 
eral hundred requests for prayer from 
all parts of Ireland, and some from Eng- 
land and Scotland, have been laid before 
the Lord at each of these meetings. Yes- 
terday the number reached 500. It is also 
pleasant to relate that many thanksgivings 
for mercies received in answer to prayer 
have been presented to the Lord. 



in. 



-THE BIBLE-READINGS 



have been deeply interesting and instruct- 
ive. The first lecture for this week, given 
on Wednesday in the Metropolitan Hall, 
was, " God's Faithfulness to His Promises," 
and Mr. Moody showed from a large num- 
ber of instances, both from the Old and 
New Testaments, that God has ever ful- 
filled His own promise, that " the Scrip- 
tures cannot be broken." He strongly 
recommended Christians to study the 
Bible with a view to seeing how God has 
fulfilled His promises in small things as 
well as in great. 

Mr. Moody's subject for Thursday was 
" Daniel." He handled it, as might be 
expected, with much ability and graphic 
power, snowing how Daniel dared to do 



9° 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



what was right, and how God preserved 
and prospered him. This lecture was so 
highly appreciated by the audience that 
he was requested to give it again for the 
benefit of young men, which he has kindly 
promised to do at eight o'clock on Sunday 
morning. 

On Friday, the reading was more of a 
miscellaneous kind, for the purpose of 
showing the young converts how to read 
the Bible with most profit, and to draw 
forth the rich treasures of knowledge and 
comfort which it contains. 

iv. — soldiers' meeting. 

One meeting of special interest, held 
during the past week, was a tea given by 
a few Christian friends to about 1,500 sol- 
diers. 100 came by special train from the 
Curragh camp. 

Mr. Moody spoke with great power and 
point, exhorting them to decide for Christ, 
and to become " good soldiers of the Lord 
Jesus." I am informed that many em- 
braced Christ that night as their only 
Saviour, including at least one officer, who 
had not before been very favorable to the 
cause o£ religion. At the close of Mr. 
Moody's address, he invited all those who 
desired that special prayer should then be 
offered for them, to hold up their hands. 
For a time no one responded. The 
request being repeated, one fair, tall, 
manly young fellow, with an honest face 
and expansive brow, standing in front of 
Mr. Moody, took courage, and lifted up 
his right hand high in the air. After this, 
one and another in quick succession held 
up theirs, till quite a number appeared. 

MEETING FOR MEN ONLY. 

One other meeting I would refer to — 
to my mind one of the most hopeful and 
encouraging of all. I refer to the meeting 
for men only, held every night at nine 
o'clock. 

On Sunday evening last, as on previous 
occasions, the Metropolitan Hall was filled 
with men, chiefly young men. There 
must have been 2,000 present. 



VII. 

I can confidently say that the work here 
intensifies and spreads every day, I might 
say every hour. Some of our more timid 
and cautious friends who had almost never 
come in contact with a great religious 



awakening, were fearful, while we wer 
making our preliminary arrangements, 
that it wouM be next to impossible to keep 
up the interest of the people for a month 
or more ; but the fact is, the interest was 
never nearly so great as it is this moment ; 
and as the time of our brethren's depart- 
ure draws near, the eagerness to hear 
their every word and catch their every 
song is something wonderful to see. As I 
remarked before, this eagerness does not 
now proceed from curiosity. 

At all the meetings yesterday, the at- 
tendance was enormous. It is a very 
healthful sign of this work, that the Daily 
Prayer-meeting continues to be so largely 
attended, although neither Mr. Moody nor 
Mr. Sankey usually takes a very promi- 
nent part in it. The requests for prayer 
have become so numerous, that it has been 
found impossible to read even a brief 
classification of them. The letters have 
for some days been " spread before the 
Lord," after the example of good King 
Hezekiah, the meeting uniting in silent 
entreaty for the special cases sent in. 

Hundreds were obliged, yesterday, to 
go away disappointed in their efforts to 
get into the Bible-reading in the Metro- 
politan Hall. Mr. Moody reserved his 
best wine to the last. A more suggestive 
Bible lecture it was never our privilege to 
hear. We had a compendium of some 
half a dozen Bible-readings. The great 
bulk of the people, ministers included, 
were taking notes. It is given to few 
preachers to have so many eager reporters. 
Many a good sermon will be got out of 
yesterday's addresses. One minister re- 
marked that it was as good as an addition 
of many a good book to his library. It is 
calculated that in the evening there were 
not less than 12,000 persons assembled in 
the Exhibition building. There is not a 
Sabbath service in any congregation in 
Britain in which there is a greater solem- 
nity and decorum than there was in that 
vast assembly. The sight from the plat- 
form of these earnest, and, in many cases, 
awe-stricken thousands, is one that it will 
be impossible for us ever to forget. Some 
one remarked to me, a day or two ago, 
how significant it was that during the 
severe weather of last week, even a cough 
was scarcely heard in that great-Crowded 
glass building. When Mr. Sankey sings, 
the silence is sometimes even oppressive. 

We are now engaged in giving out 
tickets for the Thanksgiving meeting, to 



DUBLIN. 



9i 



be held on Wednesday evening, the last 
night Mr. Moody has promised to be with 
us. The tickets are given only to those 
who profess to have been brought to 
Christ during the special services. We 
are very careful in giving these tickets, 
though I doubt not there may be many 
stony-ground hearers. 

We have had the help in this work of 
some of the most experienced ministers of 
the gospel in our city ; and the general 
impression made on the minds of the 
brethren who have taken part in it, is of 
deep and intense gratitude for the many 
indubitable tokens of the presence and 
power of the regenerating Spirit of God. 
About a thousand tickets have been already 
given out ; but many of the converts have 
not yet applied. 

Arrangements have been made for the 
carrying on of special prayer and evangel- 
istic meetings, after our brethren have 
left. Leading ministers of all our evan- 
gelical churches have thrown themselves 
heartily into these arrangements. We 
have felt that it is a good thing — good for 
ourselves, and good for that cause which, 
with all our imperfections, is dearer to us 
than life — for brethren to dwell together, 
and work together, in unity. 

Mr. H. Drummond writes that the meet- 
ing for young men last Friday in the Met- 
ropolitan Hall was larger than any that had 
preceded it. W. 



YIII. 

The happy visit of Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey to Dublin, which for so long a time 
has occupied the attention of the Chris- 
tian public, is now a thing of the past. 
These men of God are gone from us, but 
the work remains. That work consists — 

1. In a great general awakening through- 
out Dublin and its neighborhood. This 
is a fact which is patent to all, and can- 
not be gainsayed or denied. It is a fact 
that from 12,000 to 20,000 persons have 
been attracted to the Exhibition Palace 
every Sunday afternoon since the work 
began ; that the attendance at the services 
held each evening in the same place, be- 
ginning with some 5,000 people, increased 
each evening till it became as great as on 
the Sundays ; and this notwithstanding an 
audience of from 2,000 to 2,500 had been 
in daily attendance at the noon prayer- 
meeting in the Metropolitan Hall, and on 
three days in each week at the Bible-read- 



ings at two o'clock in the same place. 
What has been the great attractive power 
which has drawn together such vast mul- 
titudes? Thank God, it was the simple 
statement of gospel truth — the old, old 
story of Jesus and His love, plainly and 
lovingly told. 

2. The bringing in of some 3,000 converts 
to the fold of Christ. Nearly 2,000 tickets 
were issued to those who professed to have 
found the Lord Jesus as their Saviour since 
these services began. To these must be 
added the many hundreds who came up 
from all parts of the country to attend the 
services, and who found "joy and peace 
in believing," some of whom are known to 
myself, besides all those who are still day 
by day being added to the Lord. 

3. The quickening and refreshing of 
many hundreds of ministers in connection 
with the convention held this week. It was 
a happy thought to bring so many ministers 
of the various evangelical denominations 
together at this time. It afforded them an 
opportunity of seeing with their own eyes 
the reality of this great work of God which 
is going on around us, getting their own 
hearts warmed up afresh, and thus of be- 
coming, when they return home, more than 
ever centres of spiritual light and heat in 
their own parishes and districts. 



IX. 

The visit of the American evangelists, 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey, terminated on 
Thursday, and with it a series of religious 
services which have marked the progress 
of a movement the most remarkable ever 
witnessed in Ireland. There have been at 
various times so-called " revivals," which 
have cast a flood of devotional feeling over 
the country, but their influence was only 
transient — they left but little trace of any 
permanent effect. This new mission has 
been of a character essentially different, and 
seemed to possess elements of vitality which 
were wanting in others. There was nothing 
sensational, though much that was novel 
and attractive, in the nature of the services 
and the mode of conducting them. Mr. 
Moody, as a preacher, is certainly not su- 
perior, if he is not very inferior, in erudi- 
tion and intellectual gifts, to the average 
class of educated clergymen. He is elo- 
quent, or he would have no power ; but 
his eloquence is far from being of an ele- 
vated style. It is remarkable rather for 



9 2 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



great volubility and fervor than for the 
higher qualities of a pulpit orator. It has 
no pretension to elegance of diction, beauty 
of illustration, harmonious arrangement, or 
logical force. His sermons would not 
stand the test of ordinary criticism. His 
language is plain and homely, not always 
very accurate, and sometimes containing 
colloquial phrase more popular than re- 
fined. Thus there will appear to be a con- 
siderable balance of disadvantages against 
him. 

How, then, is his marvelous success to 
be explained? His great earnestness is, 
perhaps, the secret of it. His heart as 
well as his head seems to be full of his 
subject, and he has no difficulty in giv- 
ing effective expression to his thoughts. 
The evident absence of any effort at 
self-display, but rather a sensitive avoid- 
ance of it, helps to obtain for him a 
favorable reception, and he never fails to 
keep the attention of a vast multitude 
riveted, and to enlist their feelings by the 
ready flow of his discourses, in which per- 
suasion and argument were blended with 
many apt illustrations and personal in- 
cidents. He has an inexhaustible fund of 
anecdote, and in some of his earlier ser- 
mons here he appeared to draw upon it 
rather freely, but he soon came to under- 
stand that his audience did not quite rel- 
ish so abundant a supply, though his 
stories were generally of some interest, and 
were told with dramatic effect. He always 
selected some striking passage of Scripture 
for his text, and expounded it with great 
simplicity, but with keen intelligence and 
a discreet and earnest power, which pro- 
duced a visible impression. 

Mr. Sankey possesses a voice of great 
volume, and he manages it with much 
skill, though it has not been properly 
educated. His utterance is remarkably 
distinct, and he is able by himself to fill 
with vocal sound a building in which from 
10,000 to 15,000 people are congregated. 
He accompanies himself with a small har- 
monium. He takes up some sentiment 
which Mr. Moody has illustrated, and 
presents it anew, invested with the attrac- 
tions and sympathetic influence of music, 
and so fixes it more deeply in the heart as 
well as the memory. There is a special 
collection of hymns, set to airs which catch 
at once the popular ear. Some of them 
are original, others are modifications of 
familiar songs, but all appear to be in the 
highest favor, though there is no poetry in 



them, and though even their orthodoxy 
may be doubted in one or two points. 
The singing of Mr. Sankey's solos, how- 
ever, with touching solemnity, had an ef- 
fect not less marvelous in its way than 
the united voices of the immense congre- 
gation, led by a trained choir, in the d - 
livery of other hymns. There is an in- 
dividual character stamped upon them 
which made them appear to express •the 
feelings of each separate person, and not 
of the whole collective mass. 

The services were characterized by a 
reverence and devotion which were extra- 
ordinary, considering that the multitude 
was composed of literally every creed and 
class, and that many hundreds who pressed 
for admission two hours before the doors 
were opened were attracted only by curi- 
osity, and some by a love of amusement, 
conceiving that they would find in the 
proceedings something to excite their ridi- 
cule. But the first prayer or the reading 
of a passage of Scripture, and still more' 
surely the fervid exhortations of Mr. 
Moody, whose manner, tone, and words 
brought home to all the conviction that he 
at least was terribly in earnest, dispelled all 
ideas of the ludicrous, and made the most 
light-hearted and careless youths listen 
with deep attention and apparent interest. 
There was something very impressive in 
the breathless stillness which pervaded 
the vast assemblage covering the whole 
area of the Exhibition Palace from end to 
end during the delivery of Mr Moody's 
most solemn utterances, or Mr. Sankey's 
plaintive songs. There were no demon- 
strations of emotion such as may be seen 
in other revival meetings — no apparent 
excitement, but a very marked and uni- 
versal reverence, and also an enthusiasm 
which was all the more intense because it 
was subdued. 

Let those who think they can do so, ac- 
count for the movement, and explain, if 
they can, what it is which brought together 
such immense congregations every day for 
nearly six weeks, and produced such extra- 
ordinary effects. The fact itself is mem- 
orable and suggestive. 

The organization was admirable. There 
were numerous services of different kinds 
each day, intended for different classes and 
conditions of people. Some were in the 
Metropolitan Hall, but the principal were 
in the Exhibition Palace, which can accom- 
modate from 10,000 to 15,000 people at 
least in the Great Transept and the Lein- 



DUBLIN. 



93 



ster Hall. There was a platform erected 
at the angle where the two halls meet, and 
on this were clergymen of different denom- 
inations, who took part in the services ; 
and, as already stated, there was a choir 
of trained voices. Persons were also ap- 
pointed to meet " inquirers " after the 
meetings were over and try to fix in their 
minds the impressions left by the services. 
There was no attempt made to win pro- 
selytes for any particular church, and not 
the faintest allusion to any of the distinc- 
tive characteristics of sects and creeds. 
The result was, that Protestants and Ro- 
man Catholics, Christians and Jews, Pres- 
byterians, Methodists, Moravians, Arians, 
and Quakers, were all mingled in the great 
assembly, and all seemed equally im- 
pressed. 

The presence of over 750 clergymen of 
various communions, in answer to the 
invitation of the Committee who have 
taken charge of the work, is a significant 
proof of the success of the movement. At 
the convention and a private conference 
held yesterday at the close of the series of 
meetings, arrangements were made for car- 
rying on the work which Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey began. The two " evangel- 
ists " have gone to England, and intend to 
make Manchester their next field of opera- 
tions. 



X. 

To the majority of people the fact that 
between four and five thousand men and 
women assembled in a public hall at eight 
o'clock on a frosty morning in December, 
will be primd facie evidence that they were 
very much in earnest about the business 
they had in hand. There were nearly five 
thousand persons in the Free Trade Hall 
here this (Sunday) morning, to hear the 
u American evangelists," Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey. I arrived at a quarter to 
eight, under the impression that I was 
rather early than otherwise. But I hear 
that at seven o'clock the approaches to the 
still closed doors of the hall were thronged, 
and the people waiting patiently under the 
bleak sky, through which the morning 
light was struggling. I know that I had 
to stand during the whole of the service, 
being one of a crowd wedged in the pas- 
sages between the closely-packed benches. 
Every available seat was long ago occupied. 
The galleries were thronged, and even the 
balconies at the rear of the hall were full 



to overflowing. The audience were, I 
should say, pretty equally divided in the 
matter of sex, and were apparently of the 
class of small tradesmen, clerks, and well- 
to-do mechanics ; that was the general 
class of the morning congregation. But 
it must not, therefore, be understood that 
the upper class in Manchester stand aloof 
from the special services of the American 
gentlemen. In the afternoon meeting ele- 
gantly-attired ladies and gentlemen, wear- 
ing spotless kid gloves and coats of irre- 
proachable cut, struggled for a place in 
the mighty throng that streamed into the 
hall when the doors were thrown open. 

Punctually at eight o'clock the meeting 
was opened by one of the local clergymen, 
who prayed for a blessing on the day and 
the work, declaring, amid subdued but 
triumphant cries from portions of the con- 
gregation, that " The Lord has risen in- 
deed ! Now is the stone rolled away from 
the sepulchre, and the kingdom of God is 
at hand." Mr. Moody, who sat at a small 
desk in front of the platform, then ad- 
vanced and gave out the hymn, " Guide 
us, O Thou great Jehovah," the singing of 
which Mr. Sankey, sitting before a small 
harmonium, led and accompanied, the vast 
congregation joining with great heartiness. 
"Mr. Sankey will now sing a hymn by 
himself," said Mr. Moody ; and Mr. 
Sankey broke in with the first line of the 
hymn, " What are you going to do, bro- 
ther ? " After this solo, he began to play 
a tune well known at these meetings, into 
which the congregation struck with one 
mighty voice. The hymn would probably 
excite the unfavorable criticism of Dr. 
Eadie, if it were proposed to insert it in 
the Hymnal of the Scotch Kirk, being 
amenable to some of the objections 
quoted in a recent newspaper article as hav- 
ing been urged before the Glasgow Pres- 
bytery by the reverend Doctor. The 
words have a martial, inspiriting sound, 
and as the verse rolled forth, filling the 
great hall with a mighty and musical noise, 
one could see the eyes of strong men fill 
with tears. 

Ho, my comrades, see the signal 

Waving in the sky ! 
Reinforcements now appearing, 

Victory is nigh ! 
" Hold the fort, for I am coming," 

Jesus signals still ; 
Wave the answer back to heaven, 

" By Thy grace we will." 

The subject of Mr. Moody's address was 
" Daniel". One might converse for an hour 



94 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



with Mr. Moody without discovering from 
his accent that he was from the United 
States. But it is unmistakeable when he 
preaches, and especially in the colloquies 
supposed to have taken place between 
characters in the Bible and elsewhere. 
He began his discourse this morning with- 
out other preface % than a half apology for 
selecting a subject which, it might be sup- 
posed, everybody knew everything about. 
But, for his part, he liked to take out and 
look upon the photographs of old friends, 
when they were far away, and he hoped 
that his hearers would not think it waste 
of time to take another look at the picture 
of Daniel. There was one peculiarity 
about Daniel, and that was that there was 
nothing against his character to be found 
all through the Bible. Nowadays, when 
men write biographies, they throw what 
they call the veil of charity over the dark 
spots in a career. But when God writes a 
man's life, He puts it all in. So it hap- 
pened that we find very few, even of the 
best men in the Bible, without their times 
of sin. But Daniel came out spotless, and 
the preacher attributed his exceptionally 
bright life to the power of saying " No." 

After this exordium Mr. Moody pro- 
ceeded to tell in his own words the story 
of the life of Daniel. Listening to him, it 
was not difficult to comprehend the secret 
of his great power over the masses. Like 
Bunyan, he has the great gift of being able 
to realize things unseen, and to describe 
his vision in familiar language to those 
whom he addresses. I am afraid his no- 
tion of " Babylon, that great city," would 
barely stand the test of historic research. 
But that there really was in far-off days a 
great city called Babylon, in which men 
bustled about, ate and drank, schemed and 
plotted, and were finally overruled by the 
visible hand of God, he made as clear to 
the listening congregation as if he were 
talking about Chicago. He filled the lay 
figures with life, clothed them with gar- 
ments, and then made them talk to each 
other in the English language as it is to- 
day accented in some of the American 
States. 

The story of Daniel is one peculiarly 
susceptible of Mr. Moody's usual method 
of treatment, and for three-quarters of an 
hour he kept the congregation enthralled 
whilst he told how Daniel's simple faith 
triumphed over the machinations of the un- 
believer. Mr. Moody's style is unlike that 
of most religious revivalists. He neither 



shouts nor gesticulates, and mentioned 
" hell " only once, and that was in connec- 
tion with the life the drunkard makes for 
himself. His manner is reflected by the 
congregation, in respect of abstention from 
working themselves up into " a state." 
But this makes all the more impressive the 
signs of genuine emotion which follow 
and accompany the preacher's utterance. 
When he was picturing the scene of 
Daniel translating the King's dream, 
rapidly repeating Daniel's account of the 
dream, and Nebuchadnezzar's quick and 
delighted ejaculation, " That's so ! " 
" That's it ! " as he recognized the inci- 
dents, I fancy it was not without difficulty 
some of the people, bending forward and 
listening with glistening eye and heighten- 
ed color, refrained from clapping their 
hands for glee that the faithful Daniel, the 
unyielding servant of God, had triumphed 
over tribulation, and had walked out of 
prison to take his place on the right hand 
of the king. There was not much exhor- 
tation throughout the discourse, and not 
the slightest reference to any disputed 
point of doctrine. The discourse was 
nothing more than a re-telling of the story 
of Daniel. But whilst Nebuchadnezzar, 
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, 
Darius, and even the 120 princes, became 
for the congregation living and moving 
beings, all the ends of the narrative were, 
with probably unconscious, certainly un- 
betrayed, art, gathered together to lead up 
to the one lesson, that compromise, where 
truth and religion are concerned, is never 
worthy of those who profess to believe 
God's word. 

" I am sick of the shams of the present 
day," said Mr. Moody, bringing his dis- 
course to a sudden close. " I am tired of 
the way men parley with the world whilst 
they are holding out their hands to be 
lifted into heaven. If we are going to be 
good Christians and God's people, let us 
be so out-and-out. 

Last night I heard him deliver an ad- 
dress in one of the densely-populated dis- 
tricts of Salford. Admission to the chapel 
in which the service was held was exclu- 
sively confined to women, and, notwith- 
standing that it was Saturday night, there 
were at least a thousand sober-looking 
and respectably-dressed women present. 
The subject of the discussion was Christ's 
conversation with Nicodemus, whose social 
position Mr. Moody incidentally made rec- 
ognizable by the congregation by observ- 



DUBLIN. 



95 



ing that " if he had lived in these days he 
would have been a doctor of divinity, 
Nicodemus, D.D., or perhaps LL.D." 
His purpose was to make it clear that men 
were saved, not by any action of their 
own, but simply by faith. This he illus- 
trated, among other ways, by introducing 
a domestic scene from the life of the chil- 
dren of Israel in the wilderness at the 
time the brazen serpent was lifted up. The 
dramatis personce, were a young convert, a 
skeptic, and the skeptic's mother. The 
convert, who has been bitten by the ser- 
pent, and, having followed Moses' injunc- 
tion, is cured, "comes along," and finds 
the skeptic lying down "badly bitten." 
He entreats him to look upon the brazen 
serpent which Moses has lifted up, but the 
skeptic has no faith in the alleged cure, 
and refuses. " Do you think," he says, 
" I'm going to be saved by looking at a 
brass serpent away off on a pole ? No, 
no." "Well, I don't know," says the 
young convert, " but I was saved that way 
myself. Don't you think you'd better try 
it ?" The skeptic refuses, and his mother 
" comes along," and observes, " Hadn't 
you better look at it, my boy ?" " Well, 
mother, the fact is, that if I could under- 
stand the philosophy of it I would look up 
right off; but I don't see how a brass ser- 
pent away off on a pole can cure me." 
And so he dies in his unbelief. 

It seemed odd to hear this conversation 
from the wilderness recited, word for word, 
in the American vernacular, and with a 
local coloring that suggested that both the 
skeptic and the young convert wore tail 



coats, and that the mother had to " come 
along " in a stuff dress. But when the 
preacher turned aside, and in a very few 
words spoke of sons who would not hear 
the counsel of Christian mothers, and re- 
fused to "look up and live," the silent 
tears that coursed down many a face in 
the congregation showed that his homely 
picture had been clear to the eyes before 
which it was held up. 



XL 

The labors of the Evangelists closed 
with a three days' convention, which was 
attended by 800 ministers, from all parts 
of Ireland, besides thousands of the gen- 
eral public. The first day was devoted to 
discussions on the following topics : — 
" Praise and Thanksgiving," " How are 
the masses to be reached," " What can be 
done to promote the Lord's work through- 
out Ireland," etc. The second day was 
signalized by a gathering of over 2,000 con- 
verts, to whom Mr. Moody addressed lov- 
ing counsels, and on the third day there 
was another gathering of the ministers in 
Exhibition Palace. And thus terminated 
one of the most remarkable gatherings 
ever held in Dublin. Mutual love and 
courtesy marked all the proceedings. 
Strangers could not tell to what body 
of Christians many of the speakers be- 
longed. 

The labors of the Evangelists in Ireland 
were ended, and on Sunday, the 29th of 
November, at Manchester, they began 
their new work in England. 






THE WORK IN ENGLAND. 



THE FIRST WEEK IN MANCHESTER. 



I. 

November and December. — Our dear 
brethren have come among us in dark, win- 
try weather, but there has been no gloom 
or coldness in any of their meetings, nor 
have rain or fog diminished the crowds 
that flocked to hear them. They have 
evidently come " in the fullness of the 
blessing of the gospel of Christ," and 
they have found awaiting them, to all 
appearance, " a people prepared for the 
Lord." 

Many thousands of Christian people 
have been praying for Manchester, and 
hundreds of thousands of prayers have 
risen to God from Manchester herself for 
a blessing on the labors of His servants. 
The preparatory work, indeed, has been 
going on all the year, especially since the 
month of April, when united evangelistic 
services were held in almost all the Non- 
conformist places of worship throughout 
the district. These preparatory meetings 
were brought to a close last Saturday, 
with a Communion service, in which up- 
wards of 2,000 Christians of various de- 
nominations joined. 

You have been told something of the 
meeting for workers on Sunday morning. 
To those who know the ordinary habits 
of Manchester, the attendance was aston- 
ishing, numbering nearly, if not quite, 
2,500 persons. Most of these had walked 
distances varying from one to three miles, 
some far more, though the rain fell in tor- 
rents through a thick, cold fog. 

The work has been going on since, 
much as it did during the first week or 
fortnight in Dublin, and in other places. 
There is no doubt that Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey have already made a most 
favorable impression upon a large portion 
of the Christian public of our city. The 
charm of Mr. Sankey's affectionate nature 
has been felt by many, as well as the 
power of his gift of song. The gifts 
which fit Mr. Moody to be the leader of a 
religious movement like the present are 
recognized by every one. Men accustom- 



ed to authority willingly put themselves 
under his orders. He inspires confidence. 
All feel at once his practical good sense 
and singleness of purpose. Among his 
natural endowments is a power of pathos 
which must tell everywhere, but will tell 
especially upon a Lancashire audience. It 
seems to lay hold of the men even more than 
of the women. In his energetic, vigorous 
nature there is a great depth of tender- 
ness, which now and then breaks forth in 
his addresses with extraordinary power. 
Above all, he feels and speaks as though 
he felt that the excellency of the power is 
of God, and not of us. 

The crowds which flock to hear our 
friends, if they do not increase, continue 
undiminished. Already not a few have 
found peace in Jesus through their word. 
Mr. Moody has more than once said in 
public, that nowhere, during the first week 
of his labors, have such meetings been 
held as in Manchester. Still it would be 
folly to suppose that the work as yet is 
more than* just beginning. The masses, 
the general public, are still almost un- 
touched. Manchester is tenacious of the 
right of independent judgment, and will 
make up her mind for herself. And more 
than this, the process with the Lancashire 
public is somewhat slow. Beneath an 
apparent mobility, which may easily de- 
ceive a stranger, there is a cast of thought 
and feeling strongly conservative. When 
one thinks of the enormous population 
gathered in our city and the circumjacent 
towns, one cannot forbear the wish that 
the visit of our friends could be prolonged, 
at least, a few weeks beyond the too brief 
month which they have promised us. 



II. 

The first week of the meetings in Man- 
chester has been full of good omen. The 
work of God for which we have so long 
prayed and waited has opened with power. 
God is bending in blessing over the city. 
An awakening and reviving breath from 



MANCHESTER. 



97 



heaven has for some time been felt on the 
face of the churches. For months past 
strong supplication has gone up to the 
throne from the noon and other prayer- 
meetings in various parts of the city ; and 
the churches have been gradually drawing 
closer together under the influence of the 
hope of revival. This spirit of union 
found delightful expression in the Com- 
munion services held in two central chap- 
els last Saturday week. Over 2,000 mem- 
bers from many churches gathered around 
the Lord's table to enjoy a hallowed sea- 
son of fellowship with each other and with 
the -Head of the Church. The heartfelt 
greetings between brethren of different de- 
nominations told how truly the bond of 
union in Jesus was felt, and how really the 
Church of Christ was one, though varied 
in its outward aspect to the world. 

On Sunday week, notwithstanding the 
drenching rain, the Oxford Hall was filled 
with Christian workers at eight o'clock in 
the morning, and hundreds were unable to 
gain admission. Mr. Moody delivered an 
inspiring address on " Courage, Persever- 
ance, and Love," as the three requisites of 
all workers for God. " All the men whom 
God used in Scripture times were cour- 
ageous men. God could not use a man 
destitute of courage. When Elijah fell 
into despondency under the juniper-tree, 
God had to find another man; Noah 
worked for 120 years without seeing re- 
sults, and yet never got discouraged. We 
were to be sure God called us to the work. 
When Moses went out to deliver his breth- 
ren before God sent him, * he looked this 
way and that way ;' but a man whom God 
has sent never needs to look over his 
shoulder ; straight forward is the word for 
him." Sharp, graphic, clinging utterances 
like these sparkled out all over his animat- 
ing address, which was followed up by 
Mr. Sankey singing, " Here am I ; send 
me." 

The afternoon meetings were still more 
remarkable. The incessant rain had not 
abated, yet the overflow, after the filling of 
the Oxford Hall, crowded the Free Trade 
Hall, where the service was carried on by 
various ministers till the American breth- 
ren arrived from the other gathering. Mr. 
Moody's bright and practical exposition of 
I the gospel " was listened to with lively at- 
tention. A mighty interest was gathering, 
which broke forth with wonderful power on 
the following evening. That Monday 
evening meeting in the Free Trade Hall 



will live long in the memories of those who 
witnessed it. None could withstand the 
conviction that the Spirit of God was oper- 
ating in the solemnized assembly as they 
beheld, under the influence that swayed the 
meeting during Mr. Moody's appeals, busi- 
ness men, one after another, rising to be 
prayed for. The address had been grow- 
ing in earnestness ; the speaker seemed to 
come into contact with the souls of the 
people^ before him. He requested any 
who wished to be prayed for to rise. He 
quietly repeated the invitation. One was 
seen to stand in the left-hand gallery and 
cover his face with his hands ; another in 
the area. Mr. Moody said solemnly,"There 
is one risen; thank God for that. An- 
other ; and another. Christians, keep on 
praying. Another. Jesus is passing by. 
You may never have such an opportunity 
again. You may never again have so 
many Christians praying for you." Before 
many minutes, people were standing in all 
parts of the hall, amid deep silence, broken 
only by a hushed response at each new ap- 
peal for continued prayer. At the close of 
the meeting the anxious ones were invited 
into the inquiry-rooms, where Mr. Moody 
conversed with them individually. He 
said afterwards that it was the best meeting 
he had known on the second day of a 
series. The crowds unable to obtain ac- 
cess to the Free Trade Hall filled the Ox- 
ford Hall, where a solemn service was con^ 
ducted by the Rev. W. R. Murray. Mr. 
Sankey came from the larger gathering to 
speak a few words, and to sing " Jesus of 
Nazareth passeth by." 

The evenings of Tuesday, Wednesday, 
and Thursday were devoted to meetings 
for men in the Oxford Hall. Being obliged 
to attend the overflow meetings, the writer 
was present only on the latter occasion. 
The clear exposition of God's way of sal- 
vation by faith, and not by works, illus- 
trated and enforced by an admirable and 
tellinguse of Scripture and by graphic and 
pathetic story, wonderfully moved the 
great throng of men. Many shook with 
uncontrollable emotion, and much occa- 
sion for delightful labor was found in the 
inquiry-room. A man with whom the 
writer conversed, rose from his knees, 
where he had committed "his whole self" 
to Christ, and said, " I came from Bolton 
to-day. I did not think I should find 
Christ." A brother minister brought up 
another young convert. It was this man's 
nephew who had just found peace. The 



9 8 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



two greeted each other with joyful sur- 
prise. 

Afternoon meetings for women have 
been held in the Rev. A. McLaren's 
chapel, Oxford road. It is strange to ob- 
serve them thronging the road on their 
way to the chapel, and still more strange 
to see them occupying all the available 
standing-room in the spacious building. 
Not less than 2,000 women were present 
on Tuesday afternoon. These meetings, 
like all the rest, increase in power as they 
proceed, and on Thursday, when Mr. 
Moody entered the lecture hall, he found it 
filled with weeping, kneeling inquirers. 
Many left with the joy of pardon on their 
spirits. 

The noon prayer-meeting has, with one 
exception, been held in the Free Trade 
Hall, with an attendance of from 2,000 to 
3,000. In these meetings may be found 
the soul of the movement. It is the daily 
united cry to God which brings upon the 
city the power of the Holy Spirit/for con- 
viction and conversion. On Thursday, 
dealing with the objection that this work is 
not of God, Mr. Moody said, " What do 
these noon prayer-meetings mean ? What 
do men come here by hundreds, I might 
say by thousands, to pray for ? A genuine 
work of God. And will He give us a 
counterfeit ? If we ask bread will He 
give us a stone ? The Shunammite fell at 
the feet of Elisha and said, ' As the Lord 
thy God liveth I will not leave thee.' She 
wasn't going to trust in that old staff, nor 
in the servant. She would trust only in 
the master ; and well it was for her, or she 
would never have got back her child. And 
the prayer-meeting clings to the feet of 
God. We will not have the staff; we will 
not trust in the servants, but only in the 
Master himself; He can and will raise the 
dead. " In this conviction we unfalteringly 
concur. The voice of the Son of God is 
being heard, and they that hear it live. 
In His majesty Christ is saying, " I am the 
Resurrection and the Life ; he that believ- 
eth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall 
he live ;" and the spiritual resurrection 
we are persuaded will go on till there is 
marshaled for God an exceeding great 
army of the living. 



III. 

December 4. — We are drawing to the 
close of this first week of the special meet- 



ings in this city, and I send a little account 
of what I have seen of them. 

First of all, we have to praise our faith- 
ful God for the abundant answers to prayer 
already experienced in the gathering to- 
gether and quickening of so many of His 
people day after day at the noon prayer- 
meeting in the Free Trade Hall. All to 
whom I have spoken testify to the spiritual 
refreshment and power they have received 
at these hallowed seasons of intercourse 
with God. 

One feature of the noon meeting here is 
particularly striking, contrasted with what 
I have observed elsewhere, and that is, 
the very large proportion of men, who, in 
this busy city (one of the busiest, I sup- 
pose, in the world), leave their business 
to come and spend an hour in the middle 
of the day at the prayer-meeting. 

Another marked feature has been the 
spirit of prayer poured out on those who 
took part in the meetings. Is it not a 
token for good when God is putting such 
deep, earnest longings for spiritual blessing 
into the hearts of His children, when the 
burden of every heart seems the same, and 
one yearning desire is heard in every pe- 
tition for the revival of God's work in the 
hearts of His own people, and among the 
unsaved multitudes of this great city ? I 
believe God is about to do a mighty work 
of grace in Manchester. Although but a 
few meetings have been held, we have 
already had abundant proofs of the Lord's 
presence and power in the salvation of 
souls. 

The first evening meeting was held on 
Monday, at the Free Trade Hall, which 
was crowded in every part ; and there was 
an overflow meeting, conducted by some 
of the ministers, in the Oxford Music 
Hall, at the same time. The meeting in 
the Free Trade Hall was a most solemn 
one ; and when, at the close of his ad- 
dress, Mr. Moody requested those who 
wished to become Christians that night 
to signify their desire by standing up, 
quite a number did so, and afterwards 
came to the inquiry-room, where Mr. 
Moody spoke with them alone. 

As the building is not large enough to 
accommodate all who wish to come to the 
meetings, Mr. Moody decided to have a 
meeting for women, every afternoon, at 
three o'clock, and to preach to men in the 
evening. This plan has been carried out 
since Tuesday, with very blessed results. 
The women's meetings are held in a spa- 



MANCHESTER. 



99 



cious chapel, (Union Chapel, Oxford 
Street,) which accommodates 1,500 to 
2,000 persons ; and at the close of yester- 
day's meeting a large number came into 
the inquiry-room as seekers for salvation. 
This afternoon, again, there was a crowded 
women's meeting in the same place, and 
the number of inquirers was remarkable. 
Thank God, many left professing to have 
found peace in believing. 

The evening meetings for men only have 
been most interesting and encouraging. 
Every night there are numbers seeking 
and finding salvation in the after-meetings. 
One case which came under my own notice 
was so interesting, that I must give you 
particulars of it. 

A young man came into the noon 
prayer-meeting on Wednesday, and after- 
wards to the evening meeting in the Ox- 
ford Hall, under deep concern about his 
soul's salvation. He is the child of Chris- 
tian parents, who, after praying for the 
conversion of their children for years, at 
last passed away to their rest without see- 
ing the desire of their hearts granted. 
One of the sons settled in Dublin and an- 
other in Manchester. During Mr. Moody's 
visit to Dublin, the brother living there 
was induced to attend the meetings, and 
was led to trust in the Saviour ; and on 
Tuesday last he wrote to the brother in 
Manchester telling of his own conversion, 
and urging him to attend Mr. Moody's 
meetings here. By the same post, the 
Dublin brother's Christian wife, who was 
in the north of Ireland, wrote to the same 
effect, so that the Manchester brother got 
these two letters on Wednesday, and was 
so troubled about his soul in consequence, 
that he at once got a newspaper to see 
where and when the meetings were held. 
He attended the two meetings as I have 
said ; remained for the after meeting, and 
that very Wednesday night professed to 
find Christ, and went home rejoicing in 
the Saviour. 

Mr. Moody remarked at one of the noon 
meetings that he had not seen anywhere 
more real and deep conviction of sin than 
in some of those who had come in to the 
inquiry-room at the close of the men's 
meetings the last few nights. All this is 
most cheering, and leads us to expect still 
greater things for Manchester. One who 
knows the city well tells me that every- 
where men are being stirred up to inquiry 
about the great question of the soul's 
eternal interests. 



Dec. 5. — The meeting in the Free Trade 
Hall last (Friday) night was the best I 
have seen here. The hall was crowded 
to excess, and the presence and power of 
God were most manifestly visible. It 
was one of the most solemn meetings I 
ever attended, and at the close of the first 
meeting, when Mr. Moody announced that 
an inquiry-meeting would be held in the 
Oxford Hall, a large number went to that 
building, and the Christians present had 
the joy of pointing many anxious, seeking 
souls to the Lord Jesus. 

The following circular has been issued 
by Mr. Moody : 

TO THE CLERGY OF MANCHESTER AND 
SALFORD. 

Having come to Manchester with my friend, 
Mr. Sankey, for the month of December, with 
the one object of preaching Christ, it has been a 
matter of disappointment that not more clergy- 
men of the Church of England have attended 
our meetings. 

As God has granted large blessings where 
unity has prevailed, we earnestly trust that you 
will join in seeking a blessing for Manchester. 

Manchester, Dec. 4, 1874. D. L. Moody. 

You will be glad to hear that we have 
had most cheering news from Dublin 
about the progress of the work there since 
Mr. Moody's departure. The Lord is still 
working mightily, especially amongst the 
young men, whose meeting is carried on 
every night, in the Metropolitan Hall, with 
ever-deepening interest and blessing. One 
young man stood up recently to tell how 
the Lord had saved him. He commenced 
his testimony with the words, " This day 
week I did not believe there was a God." 
Mr. Moody had spoken to him while he 
waited for a friend at one of the meetings, 
but he went away angry. He came to an- 
other meeting wishing to speak to Mr. 
Moody, who asked him to call on his wife. 
He subsequently called on Mrs.- Moody, 
and had a long conversation with her, but 
went away apparently unchanged. Now 
the news comes that after Mr. Moody left 
Dublin he was brought to the feet of Jesus 
at one of the men's meetings, and after- 
wards stood up, as I have said, to tell to 
others of the blessed change which God 
had wrought in him. 

To-day Mr. Moody went to Liverpool 
to meet the committee who are making 
arrangements for his visit to that town. 
It. was decided to erect a large wooden 
structure, capable of holding 8,000 people. 
A piece of ground has been obtained for 
the purpose in a most central situation 



100 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



(Victoria-street), and as the building can- 
not be finished this month, Mr. Moody 
will not go to Liverpool until February, 
spending January in Birmingham arid 
Sheffield. 



IV. 

Manchester, I rejoice to say, is now 
on fire. The most difficult of all English 
cities, perhaps, to be set on fire by any- 
thing but politics, is now fairly ablaze,and 
the flames are breaking out in all direc- 
tions. 

Yesterday (Dec. 6) the Free Trade Hall, 
within whose walls scenes of no common 
interest and excitement have often been 
witnessed, presented a spectacle such as 
those who beheld it will not easily forget. 
The Rev. Dr. McKerrow, my venerable 
predecessor in the ministry, assured me 
that he had seen no such sight, even in the 
most excited political times, during the 
forty-seven years of his life in Manchester, 
as that which he saw there on Sunday 
afternoon. 

The building was densely crowded. 
Not an inch of standing-room was unoc- 
cupied. Long before the appointed hour, 
hundreds found it impossible to gain ad- 
mission. And Mr. Moody — in what terms 
shall I describe his address? Theological 
critics might have said there was nothing 
in it; but only eternity will reveal how 
much there came out of it. I should not 
be surprised if hundreds of conversions 
should result from that single mighty ap- 
peal. Taking for his text the first ques- 
tion addressed to them, " Where art thou?" 
he brought it home to the bosom of every 
hearer with a power and pathos that were 
simply irresistible. Having referred to 
the case of a young man who had cried 
out in the inquiry-room on Friday night, 
"Oh, mother, I am coming!" the young 
man himself sprang to his feet, and ex- 
claimed in tones of impassioned earnest- 
ness, " That was me !" The effect was 
electrical. Not an eye but was suffused 
with tears. The whole vast assembly was 
impressed with a profound sense of the 
presence and power of the Holy Ghost. 

The meeting for young men in the even- 
ing was equally wonderful, no fewer than 
seventy-one having remained behind as 
anxious inquirers, not a few of whom went 
home rejoicing in the peace of God that 
passeth understanding. 

There is only one sentiment, I feel con- 



vinced, in the hearts of all God's children 
in this vast community in regard to this 
great work, and that is, a sentiment of 
devout thankfulness^ to our heavenly Fa- 
ther that He has sent among us two such 
men, full of faith and power, and yet 
eminent for humility and lowliness of 
mind. " The Lord hath done great things 
for us, whereof we are glad." 

Dec. ii. — The meetings of that memo- 
rable Lord's day gave a tone of solemnity 
and a character of power to all the meet- 
ings of the week. The tide rose steadily, 
day by day, until it became full, overflow- 
ing the bank in all directions — a very 
spring-tide of blessing ; and only eternity 
will reveal how many immortals are now 
launching out upon its waters in the bark 
of a simple trust in the Son of God. Oh, 
that in the end an " entrance may be min- 
istered unto them abundantly into the 
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Sav- 
iour, Jesus Christ !" May every soul whose 
hope of salvation is now being fixed upon 
Jesus, when the storms of temptation and 
sin are all past, be found " safe within the 
veil!" 

The evenings of Monday and Tuesday 
in the Free Trade Hall, will iong be 
remembered by the thousands who were 
present. Mr. Moody delivered his famous 
discourses on Heaven. Much as we have 
read and heard of the fervor and unction 
that characterize them, we were not pre- 
pared to find these apostolic qualities in so 
superlative a degree as that which marked 
them on this occasion. The second was 
especially interesting and delightful, treat- 
ing as it did of the society and the 
treasure of heaven ; and the contrast 
drawn by the preacher between these and 
the treasures and society of this world, 
seemed to strike the minds of the vast 
audience with all the force of a revelation ; 
constraining many a heart, doubtless, to 
resolve to seek henceforward " the things 
that are above." The appeal with which 
it closed, for power and pathos, exceeded, 
in our judgment, anything that he himself 
has uttered. 

And then the discourse on Hell, on the 
evening of Wednesday, coming as it did 
immediately after the addresses on Heav- 
en, was certainly one of the most solemn 
and impressive utterances that have been 
heard within those walls. Every eye was 
riveted on the speaker. The projected 
shadow of the great white throne seemed 
to fall and rest upon every countenance. 



MANCHESTER. 



101 



Even the fervent exclamations in which 
some of our friends indulge at religious 
meetings, and which had been just a little 
too fervent the night previous, were hush- 
ed, and scarcely a sound broke the awful 
stillness with which, for nearly an hour, 
the people listened to the oft-repeated 
charge, like so many claps of thunder, 
" Son, remember !" In bygone revivals such 
heart - smiting, conscience - stirring, soul- 
firing words as those which poured from 
the preacher's lips, would have caused hun- 
dreds to start to their feet, and cry out 
with frenzy, " God be merciful to me a 
sinner ! " But in harmony with the pre- 
vailing character of this awakening, the 
conviction of sin produced on that occa- 
sion seemed to be too deep and too sacred 
to find expression in mere excited exclam- 
ations or physical prostrations, and were 
known only to Him who seeth in secret ! 
God was in the midst of us of a truth. 
The Holy Spirit came, as of old, with the 
force as of a rushing mighty wind, and 
filled all the place where we were sitting. 
The powers of the world to come were 
brought nigh to every conscience in a 
manner never to be forgotten- We seemed 
to be looking across the gulf that divides 
time from eternity, and beholding the tor- 
ments of the self-destroyed victims of a 
broken law and a rejected gospel. No 
wonder that the inquiry-room was full that 
night of inquirers of the most anxious 
description, and that the after-meeting, 
over which we presided, was larger and 
more earnest than any that has yet taken 
place. Doubtless the heavens blossomed 
into song overhead, and the angels of God 
rejoiced over many souls turning from sin 
and Satan unto the living God ! 

On Thursday Mr. Moody was, for the first 
time, absent, having gone to London to visit 
his friends. The noon prayer-meeting was 
uncommonly well attended, considering 
the murky atmosphere which wrapped our 
city, but we missed the ringing voice and 
hearty appeals of our friend. In the even- 
ing a very large audience assembled in the 
Oxford Hall, to hear addresses from the 
Rev. W. H. Aitken, M.A., and the Rev. 
Alex. McAuley, of Liverpool, both of 
whom spoke in such a manner as to hold 
their hearers spell-bound for upwards of 
an hour. On Friday, Mr. Moody return- 
ed, and in the afternoon gave the second 
of his deeply-interesting and most instruct- 
ive Bible-readings, which have been so 
highly appreciated wherever he has been. 



The subject was, " Confessing Christ." 
Passage after passage of Scripture was 
quoted and illustrated, all bearing directly 
upon this primordial duty, until one felt 
that by no possibility could a single unde- 
cided hearer present justify, on Scriptural 
grounds at least, his remaining in an un- 
decided state for another hour longer. 
The preacher's running commentary on the 
gospel narrative of the healing of the man 
blind from his birth was peculiarly inter- 
esting, as well as singularly felicitous, and 
proved a fine illustration of the duty he 
was inculcating. We trust many in that 
hall were prompted to imitate the example 
of that subject of the gracious power of 
Jesus, by boldly testifying, as he did, to 
the reality of the change which has taken 
place in their hearts, and saying, " One 
thing I know, that whereas I was blind, 
now I see." 

On the evening of the same day, despite 
the inclemency of the weather, the Free 
Trade Hall was again crowded with an 
audience composed of persons on whose 
faces one could easily read their prepared- 
ness to hear the word of the Lord. Tak- 
ing for his subject the parable of the mar- 
riage feast, the preacher dealt with the 
excuses commonly urged by those who, in 
reality, " will not come to Christ that they 
may have life." One excuse after another 
was considered, and shown to be a refuge 
of lies, to be swept away hereafter, if not 
here, by the storm of God's righteous 
judgments. The word of the Lord in the 
hand of the evangelist was as a two-edged 
sword, piercing to the dividing asunder of 
soul and spirit, and of the joints and mar- 
row, and proving adiscernerof the thoughts 
and intents of the heart. A more search- 
ing analysis of the state of a human soul 
in vain seeking to excuse itself from ac- 
cepting the invitation of the King of heav- 
en, and coming to the gospel feast, it has 
never been our fortune to hear. The 
thought and the prayer were uppermost in 
our mind, " Every refuge of man's inven- 
tion has been exposed and demolished. 
Oh, that sinners may now flee for refuge 
to the hope set before them!" God be 
thanked, many did flee to that hope on 
Friday night. In the inquiry-room we 
conversed with several who owned that 
the mask of hypocrisy had been torn from 
their faces, that they saw themselves in 
the light of God's holy law, and that their 
on y hope was in Jesus Christ. To God 
alone be all the praise ! 



102 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



V. 

On Saturday evening the Oxford Hall 
presented a spectacle which those who 
witnessed it will not soori forget. In re- 
sponse to Mr. Moody's invitation, some 
3,000 persons, professedly Christians, and 
chiefly young men, assembled to hear him 
counsel them regarding Christian work. 
The heartiness with which they ever and 
anon broke forth into song before he made 
his appearance, and the manliness with 
which they sang, especially " Dare to be a 
Daniel," indicated that they were ready to 
receive with gladness the word of com- 
mand from the lips of the great Organizer. 
He spoke briefly but effectively. He told 
of the work done by the young converts 
elsewhere, especially in Glasgow, in con- 
nection with the evangelization of the 
masses. He made particular reference to 
the noble arm»y of volunteers that rose to 
their feet in that city when the appeal was 
made to them, " Who will work for Jesus ?" 
And then, when he made the same appeal 
to themselves, calling upon all who were 
ready to work for the Master to stand up, 
almost the entire body of young men — a 
grand and inspiring sight — sprang to their 
feet. One could not help exclaiming, 
" God be thanked ! there's hope for our 
city ! Manchester, with such a host, may 
yet be won for Christ!" By a special ar- 
rangement, as it seemed, of Providence, 
Mr. Reginald Radcliffe was present, and 
immediately put before them a definite 
plan for making a great gospel attack, so 
to speak, upon the city. He suggested 
that an ordinance map of Manchester 
should be cut into small squares, each 
representing a district, and that two or 
three young persons should undertake to 
carry the gospel, in the shape of a tract or 
otherwise, to every house, great and small, 
within that district, so that no single dwell- 
ing should be omitted. The plan appear- 
ed to approve itself to the judgment of 
the meeting, all the more so that he told 
us how successfully he had carried out a 
similar one in Edinburgh and Liverpool 
in years gone by. The Lord grant it 
abundant success ! 

The workers' meeting, yesterday (13th), 
was the largest since Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey came to Manchester. The address 
was most powerful. A forcible appeal was 
made to Sabbath-school teachers in this 
city ; but one conviction seemed to exist 



in the minds of the vast audience of 5,000, 
" Let us arise and work." 

Had Mr. Moody come to deliver only 
this address, his mission had not been in 
vain. In the afternoon, from 15,000 to 
17,000 struggled for admission. Various 
meetings had to be held in the Free Trade 
Hall, Oxford Hall, and Cavendish Chapel ; 
all crowded as they never have been before. 
As many more halls of the same size could 
have been filled. From twenty to thirty 
meetings were held in the streets of the 
neighborhood, where ' addresses were de- 
livered by ministers and laymen. At every 
meeting the Lord was present to heal. Anx- 
ious inquirers were very numerous. Great 
numbers professed to find the Saviour. 

The meeting for young men in Oxford 
Hall, at eight, was also crowded to excess, 
hundreds being unable to obtain admis- 
sion. Mr. Moody spoke as if tongues of 
fire hovered over his head. 



VI. 

The spiritual movement in this city is 
now a fact — a solemn but joyful fact, 
which must be observed even by those who 
take their stand outside as mere spectators, 
with marvel ; and, indeed, skeptics marvel. 

" It is a most strange phenomenon," 
said one to me, who is a clever journalist, 
" to see such multitudes brought together 
by mere curiosity, and this curiosity in- 
creasing day by day, when there is noth- 
ing to be seen or to be heard that is fitted 
to excite curiosity." So it is. A striking 
feature of these meetings is the absence 
of all excitement. The thousands who 
usually flock to our hall, when once seated, 
are impressively still ; it is a grand, encour- 
aging sight to watch this sea of human faces 
eagerly waiting for the word of life. Mr. 
Moody puts no effort forward to attract ; 
he stands before his audience quiet ; he 
never introduces himself; you see at once 
he wants you to listen to his message. 
His words are most simple and earnest ; 
there is nothing elaborate, or strange, or 
new, not even his illustrations. But as his 
words fall from his lips, hearts are moved. 
If you watch the audience you can see 
faces changing expression ; you can read 
there shame, contrition, confession, hope, 
faith, peace — as the case may be. The 
truth comes home ! There is power ! No 
man could do it ! It is God's power ! It 
is the Lord's doing. 

Christians have been drawn together as 



MANCHESTER. 



103 



we have not known here before; and 
though there remains yet much that is to 
be desired, still we are encouraged and 
hope for greater things ; we know we can- 
not make unity by arrangements and ef- 
forts ; the Lord's laborers have learned to 
realize more than ever that the work is 
God's, not ours ; that He works mightily 
with His power, if we do not hinder and 
are willing, as Mr. Moody puts it, to be 
simple channels, just as those dusty, rusty, 
crooked-looking ' gas-pipes. And many 
who have been hitherto too ignorant or in- 
different, or too cowardly to work, have 
now come forward and said, u Here am I, 
send me." 

A dear friend, from Liverpool, who is al- 
most daily with us, has used the opportu- 
nity and organized a scheme by which 
every house in this city shall be visited. I 
will only add that hundreds of our visitors 
are already busy visiting and speaking and 
singing in the sick-chambers of isolated 
sufferers, in the desolate homes of the god- 
less, of Him who came to seek and to save 
that which was lost. The reports of the 
visitors are most cheering. 

For all this let us praise the Lord ! 



VII. 

The time is drawing unpleasantly near 
for the departure of our brethren, whom 
the better we know, the more abundantly 
we esteem and love. The unassuming 
character of the men, the simplicity of 
their aim, their unwearied earnestness and 
devotion to Christ, and the revival of spir- 
itual life they have been the means of 
bringing us, have endeared them to many 
Christian hearts. They have stayed with 
us to our profit and joy, and they will not 
leave us without the accompaniment of our 
fervent prayers. 

The noon prayer-meeting in the Free 
Trade Hall has steadily kept up its num- 
bers. The large proportion of men who 
find time in this commercial centre to con- 
secrate an hour to prayer at mid day, is a 
striking feature of the meeting. The first 
twenty minutes are generally spent in read- 
ing the requests for prayer, and presenting 
them in silent and audible supplication to 
God ; a large proportion of these requests 
bear upon intemperance. This noon gath- 
ering affords an opportunity for Christian 
workers from all parts to give tidings of the 
progress of the work of God. The other 
day, Mr. Moody read a telegram from the 



venerable Mr. Somerville, who has gone on 
an evangelistic mission to Calcutta, report- 
ing the conversion of thirty-one persons at 
a special service held by him in the theatre 
there on the previous evening. Last Mon- 
day, the Rev. G. Stuart, of Glasgow, told 
how solidly the work is continuing in that 
town, and how it is in contemplation to 
purchase Ewing Place Church for ^20,000, 
for evangelistic purposes, growing out of 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey's labors. He 
also related several remarkable instances of 
answers to the prayers offered at the Glas- 
gow noon prayer-meeting. On Tuesday, 
the Rev. A. McLaren followed up Mr. 
Moody's address by a brief and telling 
speech, in the course of which he strongly 
urged prayer for the consolidation of the 
growing union now observable among the 
churches of Manchester. 

The meetings for Christian workers in 
the Free Trade Hall on Sunday mornings 
at eight o'clock have imparted a great stim- 
ulus to Christian labor. Never shall we 
forget Mr. Moody's address on " Daniel" 
last Sunday morning. The hall was 
crowded to excess; between 5,000 and 
6,000 persons brought together at that 
early hour, in the depth of winter, testifies 
to the power with which the awakening has 
laid hold of the city. The character of 
Daniel was exhibited with graphic skill; 
the varied scenes of the first six chapters 
of the book were vividly portrayed ; every 
actor in the story became instinct with life 
and humor, and the lessons were rapidly 
and sharply drawn in a way not likely to 
be forgotten. The scene of Belshazzar's 
feast was powerfully sketched ; and while 
Daniel read out the mysterious writing on 
the wall — read it easily, for it was " his 
Father's handwriting" — the breathless si- 
lence which fell upon the vast throng in 
the hall told with what reality the scene 
was presented before them. The whole 
story involved a running satire upon the 
yielding temper of the present day; and 
the address constituted a powerful appeal 
to young men, which we have never known 
surpassed. At the close Mr. Sankey sang 
" Standing by a purpose true," and the 
audience joined with unmistakable enthu- 
siasm in the chorus, " Dare to be a Daniel." 

The meetings for parents and children, 
held every Saturday at noon, in the Free 
Trade Hall, are gatherings of great attract- 
iveness. An interesting episode occurred 
last Saturday when, at Mr. Moody's sug- 
gestion, a collection was made — to be 



ic>4 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 






repeated next Saturday — for the purpose 
of giving a New Year's present to every 
orphan child in Manchester and Sal- 
ford. 

The gospel meetings on Sunday after- 
noons and week evenings are still as 
thronged as ever. The numbers at the 
inquiry -meetings increase; many have 
been led to the Saviour. So permeated 
with Bible truth is the teaching given in 
Mr. Moody's addresses, that inquirers per- 
ceive the way of salvation with unusual 
quickness ; Christ is presented to them, 
and they simply and immediately close 
with Him. Last Sunday afternoon, Mr. • 
Moody addressed the great assembly in 
the Free Trade Hall, from the seven 
following "Beholds": "Behold, I was 
shapen in iniquity." "Behold, I bring 
you good tidings of great joy." " Behold 
the Lamb of God." " Behold, now is the 
accepted time." " Behold, now is the day 
of salvation." "Behold, I stand at the 
door and knock." " Behold, he prayeth." 
It was an address of thrilling solemnity. 
The crowded meeting which at the time 
filled the Oxford Hall, was addressed by 
the Rev. J. Rawlinson and W. Hubbard. 
It may interest readers to learn that a 
band of workers has been organized to 
visit every house in Manchester and Sal- 
ford, with a card, bearing on one side the 
hymn, " Jesus of Nazareth passeth by," 
and on the other, the following 

ADDRESS BY MR. MOODY. 

" Behold, I stand at the door and 
knock : if any man hear my voice and 
open the door, I will come in to him, and 
sup with him, and he with Me" (Rev. iii. 
20). A woman in Glasgow got into diffi- 
culties. Her rent was due, but she had no 
money for the landlord, and she knew very 
well that he would turn her out if she did 
not satisfy his claim. In despair, she 
knew not what to do. A Christian man 
heard of her distress, and came to her 
door with money to help her. He knocked, 
but although he thought he could hear 
some one inside, yet the door was not 
opened. He knocked again, but still 
there was no response. The third time 
he knocked, but that door still remained 
locked and barred against him ! 

" Some time after he met this woman in 
the streets, and told her how he had gone 
to her house to pay her rent, but could 
not get in. ' Oh, sir ! ' she exclaimed, 



' was that you ? Why, I thought it was 
the landlord, and I was afraid to open the 
door ! ' 

" Dear friends ! Christ is knocking at 
the door of your heart. He has knocked 
many times already, and now He knocks 
again by this message. He is your best 
Friend, although, like that woman, per- 
haps, you think He comes with the stern 
voice of justice to demand from you 
the payment of your great sin -debt. 
If so, you are sadly mistaken. He 
comes not to demand, but to give ! l The 
gift of God is eternal life.' He knows 
you can never pay the great debt you owe 
to God. He knows that, if that debt is 
not paid for you, you are forever lost ! 
He loves you, though He hates your sins ; 
and, in order that you might be saved, He 
laid down His life a sacrifice for the guilty. 
And, now, He comes ! bringing the gift 
of salvation to the door of your hearts. 
Will you receive the gift ? 

"D. L. Moody." 

Encouraging signs of union amongst the 
different religious bodies are coming to the 
surface. Various attempts have been made 
during the year by the committee which 
conducted the preparations for the visit 
of our brethren to secure the co-operation 
of ministers of the Church of England. 
The invitation, which emanated from the 
meeting of ministers of the Established 
and Free Churches on Friday afternoon, 
Dec. 18, calling a meeting of all the min- 
isters of all bodies in Manchester and Sal- 
ford for conference on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 
at ten a.m., was well responded to ; about 
150 clergymen and ministers assembled in 
the Town Hall, and after free interchange 
of opinion and frank statement of diffi- 
culties, resolved on continuing the noon 
prayer-meeting after the departure of 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey. The pre- 
viously existing committee was requested 
to enlarge itself, so as to embrace all 
the ministers and clergymen of Man- 
chester and Salford. These, at Mr. 
Moody's suggestion, will meet monthly ; 
and a sub-committee representing each 
denomination, will carry out the determi- 
nations of the larger monthly assembly. 
It has also been resolved to purchase the 
museum in Peter Street for the Young 
Men's Christian Association, for ,£30,000, 
which sum will, it is hoped, be raised with- 
out great difficulty. The building will 
then become the home of the noon prayer- 
meeting, and the centre of the united 



MANCHESTER. 



105 



Christian effort, which now appears to be 
fairly inaugurated in Manchester. 

December 27. — The collections above 
alluded to for presenting a New Year's 
gift to the orphan children of Manchester 
and Salford have amounted to ^146. 
This morning, notwithstanding the frost 
and fog, the Free Trade Hall was again 
crowded at eight o'clock. Mr. Moody 
spoke from Dan. xii. 3, urgently enforcing 
personal effort as the great means of " turn- 
ing many to righteousness." This after- 
noon I had to leave the crowded meeting 
in the Free Trade Hall to attend the 
overflow meeting in the Oxford Hall. 



VIII. 

A few yards from the Free Trade Hall, 
on the same side of the street, stands a 
dingy-looking old public building. It was 
formerly used as a natural history museum, 
but since the erection of the magnificent 
Owen's College, and the consequent trans- 
ference of its contents, the old museum 
has been unused. The Young Men's 
Christian Association have long been look- 
ing for some suitable building as a centre 
for their operations in this important city, 
with its 70,000 young men ; and now the 
necessity is felt for a place to carry on the 
daily prayer-meeting, and other united 
evangelistic efforts, after Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey have left ; so it has been decided 
to purchase the old museum building, and 
use it for these purposes. It was secured 
accordingly on Monday last ; and, in a 
couple of days, part of the building, giving 
accommodation to about 500 persons, was 
seated, lighted with gas, and heated; so 
that, on Wednesday night, Mr. Moody 
used it as an inquiry-room, after the 
meeting in the Free Trade Hall, and we 
had the joy of seeing it full of anxious 
souls. This was a blessed consecration 
of the building for a higher and nobler 
object than ever it had been used for be- 
fore. 

This (Saturday) evening there was a 
thanksgiving meeting in the Oxford Hall, 
at which Mr. Moody presided, and, in his 
opening address, expressed his thankful- 
ness to God for the happy spirit of unity 
and love which now prevails among the 
different sections of the Church of God in 
this city. The walls of separation have 
been over-stepped, party spirit laid aside, 



and all are uniting together to exalt Christ, 
and bring sinners to Him. 

After his address, Mr. Moody invited 
any persons in the hall who had cause to 
thank God, to stand up and express their 
gratitude. It was most touching to hear 
one after another stand up to declare what 
great things God had done, either for 
themselves or for loved relatives and 
friends, during the last three weeks. Min- 
isters of the gospel tell of new life and 
blessing in their work. Then a father 
tells, in tones tremulous with emotion, 
of dear children brought to Christ and of 
the " happiest Christmas " ever spent in 
his house. Then a prodigal son tells of 
his new-found joy in the Saviour's love. 
When he sits down an aged man rises 
with streaming eyes — it is the father of 
the last speaker. What cause of thankful- 
ness he has as he tells of the letter which 
brought him the news of his son's conver- 
sion to God ! And so the time swiftly 
passed away, and at the close many were 
found anxiously inquiring the way of life, 
and desiring to share in the joy they heard 
others speak of. 

Nothwithstanding all the excitement 
and bustle of " Christmas week," the 
meetings have exceeded the expectations 
of most of us, both in the numbers attend- 
ing and in the blessing vouchsafed. 

On last Sunday the crowds at the Free 
Trade and Oxford Halls, as well as those 
unable to gain admission to either, were 
quite as great as on the Sunday previous. 

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 
there have been three meetings daily (at 
12 noon, 3 afternoon, and 7:30 evening) in 
the Free Trade Hall, as well as the men's 
meetings, conducted by Mr. Drummond, 
every night in the Oxford Hall. Every 
night scores of anxious inquirers have re- 
mained to be spoken with personally, and 
very many have gone home from each 
meeting professing to have found peace 
and rest of soul by believing in the Lord 
Jesus Christ. The ministers and other 
Christian workers who have been engaged 
at these after-meetings in pointing seek- 
ing sinners to the Saviour, all testify that 
they have never seen such a wonderful 
work of grace in this city. 

This work is not only seen in the bring- 
ing large numbers of the unconverted into 
the fold of Christ, but also in the revival 
and refreshing of the children of God, 
and the uniting together different sections 
of the Church of Chjist in the common 



io6 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



object of seeking the salvation of perish- 
ing souls. Large numbers of the clergy 
of the Church of England, who did not 
see their way to join this movement at the 
outset, are now entering most heartily into 
the work along with their brethren of 
other communions. Several meetings of 
the clergy and ministers of all denomina- 
tions have been held with the object of 
promoting this Christian union and carry- 
ing on the blessed work after Mr. Moody 
and Mr. Sankey have left. 

The scheme for the visitation of every 
house in Manchester, is working well, and 
with the happiest results. The following 
is the plan adopted : A Christian architect, 
who has entered most heartily into this 
service, has cut up the large scale Ordi- 
nance Map of Manchester into about fifty 
districts, each of which is under the charge 
of a superintendent, who is supplied with 
a sufficient number of visitors to reach 
every house within the limits of his dis- 
trict. A leaflet, containing the hymn, 
" Jesus of Nazareth passeth by," and a 
short address by Mr. Moody is left at 
each house ; but it is understood by the 
visitors that this paper is only to be used 
as an introduction, for the purpose of gain- 
ing admission to the houses, so as to have 
personal conversation about eternal things 
with each individual, as far as possible. 
Some of the visitors have already given in 
most cheering reports of the marvelous 
way in which the hearts of the people 
seemed open to receive their visits, show- 
ing that the Lord is in this movement, 
and is preparing many hearts for the re- 
ception of His own blessed message of sal- 
vation. 

The committee at Sheffield have made 
arrangements to do the same work there 
before Mr. Moody and Mr. Sankey come, 
and have got 30,000 of the same leaflet 
for that purpose. It will probably be 
taken up by Birmingham and Liverpool 
also, and why should it not be done in 
London itself? It seems a bold thought, 
but if a thousand Christian men and 
women can be found to visit the half-mil- 
lion inhabitants of Manchester, surely 
London could furnish eight thousand 
earnest laborers for the same glorious ser- 
vice. 

Mr. Moody left for London on Wednes- 
day night, and returns (d. v.) on. Saturday. 
He remains here until Wednesday next, 
which will be his last day in Manchester 
for the present, but he will probably re- 



turn again for a day or two next month. 
The Sheffield committee have secured the 
Albert Hall for the meetings there, and it 
is proposed to commence with a " watch 
night" meeting, beginning about half-past 
ten o'clock on the last night of the year. 

Dec. 26. — There was an immense con- 
course at the children's meeting in the 
Free Trade Hall to-day. Mr. Sankey pre- 
sided', and Mr. G. Beith, Rev. Mr. Ker- 
nock, etc., took part. A collection was 
made for the purpose of presenting a New 
Year's gift to every orphan in Manchester. 
The total amount collected was ^146. 

The subject of conference, held in the 
Town Hall the same afternoon was, " The 
inquiry-meeting, and how to deal with the 
anxious." Mr. Moody opened the discus- 
sion, and was followed by various speak- 
ers, all of whom concurred in recommend- 
ing that instant faith in Christ should be 
urged in the case of anxious souls. 

In the evening Mr. Moody gave a pow- 
erful address on " Faith," and there were 
many seeking Christ. 

About 3,000 parents and children were 
present in Free Trade Hall on Saturday, 
the 19th, at noon. A letter was read by 
Mr. Sankey from the children's meeting at 
Edinburgh. It was printed, and a copy 
given to all present last Saturday. 



IX. 

The mission of Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey to this country dates from July in 
last year. 

It was the late Mr. Pennefather, of Lon- 
don, and a Mr. Bainbridge, of Newcastle- 
on-Tyne, who induced the two American 
preachers to extend their mission to this 
country. After long hesitation they ac- 
cepted the invitation ; but before they 
reached Liverpool both Mr. Pennefather 
and Mr. Bainbridge were dead. 

" We arrived in York on Saturday night 
in July, 1873," says Mr. Moody, "and did 
not know a soul in the place." They soon 
made friends, however, though during their 
stay in the city their fame had not gone 
beyond the circles of the chapel congre- 
gations whose ministers had lent their pul- 
pits to the strangers. 

From York they went to Newcastle-on- 
Tyne, and here they began to attract pub- 
lic attention, great crowds gathering around 
them, not alone in Newcastle, but in all 
the towns on Tyneside which they visited 



MANCHESTER. 



107 



in succession. From here they went to 
Edinburgh, and were received with an en- 
thusiasm that was surprising to lookers-on. 
The local clergy came forward, and not 
only offered their pulpits, but supported 
the strangers with their presence when- 
ever they appeared in public. Mr. Moody 
preached and Mr. Sankey sang twice and 
thrice a day ; but every day thousands 
were, for lack of room, turned away from 
the doors of the halls and churches where 
the services were being held. 

The growing wave of enthusiasm car- 
ried them through Dundee, and other 
towns of the North, and appeared to cul- 
minate in Belfast and Dublin, whither they 
next directed their steps. The impression 
created in the latter town will be best un- 
derstood by mention of the fact that the 
meetings were held in the Exhibition Pal- 
ace, which is capable of holding 14,000 
persons, and which was always crammed 
to the doors when Moody and Sankey 
were announced to appear. From Dublin 
they came hither, and commenced work 
under circumstances that were all the more 
disheartening with the memory of the 
eager throng in Dublin still fresh in their 
minds. At first the Oxford Hall was 
found more than large enough for all who 
cared to assemble; and when the Free 
Trade Hall was adventured upon, there 
were a good many empty benches. But 
day by day the excitement rose, and if 
there were any hall in the city that would 
hold 15,000 people, it would certainly be 
filled at any one of the meetings. 

As to the practical issue of the work, it 
may be mentioned that in Dundee a body 
of young men have united for the purpose 
of carrying on the work in that town. 
Their scheme is to prepare a breakfast, to 
which they invite all homeless people who 
can be found in the streets, and after com- 
forting them with coffee and filling them 
with bread and butter, they talk to them 
in a friendly way about their present mode 
of living, and try to lead them into the 
way of doing better. Again, it is said, 
that in Belfast a number of clerks in ware- 
houses and offices — as many as seventy 
are from a single establishment — have 
formed themselves into an association, and 
have devoted themselves to the work of 
bringing all their fellow-clerks to a " knowl- 
edge of Jesus." In Liverpool ^5,000 have 
been raised for the erection of a temporary 
edifice, in which Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey may conduct their services when 



they visit that town. This money, like 
the rest of the large sums required to meet 
the expenses of the tour through Great 
Britain and Ireland, comes from unknown 
hands, at least to the extent that it is pri- 
vately and quietly subscribed, without ap- 
peals from the pulpit or publication of 
lists of donations by the press. There 
has, I am assured, been only one collec- 
tion made from congregations gathered to 
hear Messrs. Moody and Sankey, and that 
was in Dublin on Hospital Sunday. 



X. 



SUMMARY OF THE WORK IN 
MANCHESTER. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey left us, for 
the present at least, on the afternoon of 
Thursday, the last day of 1874. For four 
weeks, in the darkest, coldest, and dreari- 
est season of the year, have these men of 
God toiled among us with an amount of 
diligence and zeal such as I never saw 
equaled, far less surpassed ; and what has 
been the result? That is the question 
that shaped itself in my mind. A com- 
plete answer to it would cover page after 
page of this journal. Only eternity will 
disclose the amount of good that has been 
done through their instrumentality. To 
speak figuratively, we have had summer 
in the depth of winter. The Sun of Right- 
eousness has shone forth most brightly 
and genially, even while the material sun 
has been hid from view amid fog and dark- 
ness. From the lips of hundreds the song 
might have been heard, " Lo, the winter 
is past, the rain is over and gone ; the 
flowers appear on the earth ; the time of 
the singing of birds is come, and the voice 
of the turtle is heard in our land." 

In speaking of definite results, so far as 
these can be ascertained, I may be for- 
given if I begin with the ministers of Man- 
chester. If one class has been blessed 
more than another during these four past 
weeks, it has been the regular Christian 
ministry. I am sure I speak the senti- 
ments of all my brethren, who have thrown 
themselves heart and soul into the move- 
ment, when I say that we have received 
nothing less than a fresh baptism of the 
Holy Ghost. Our own souls have been 
quickened. Our faith in the adaptation 
of the glorious gospel of the blessed God 
to the wants and longings of the human 
spirit has been deepened. Our sense of 



io8 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



the magnitude and responsibility of our 
offices as heaven's ambassadors, charged 
with a message of reconciliation and love 
for the guiltiest of the guilty, and the 
vilest of the vile, has been greatly increas- 
ed. We have had demonstrated to us in 
a way that at once startled and delighted 
some of us, that after all, the grand levers 
for raising souls out of the fearful pit and 
the miry clay, are just the doctrines which 
our so-called advanced thinkers are trying 
to persuade the Christian world to discard 
as antiquated and impotent. These are 
— the doctrine of the atoning death of 
Jesus Christ ; the doctrine of a living, 
loving, personal Saviour ; and the doctrine 
of the new birth, by the Spirit and the 
Word of Almighty God. One of our 
ablest ministers, at the noon prayer-meet- 
ing, on the last day of the year, solemnly 
declared that, whereas the first of these 
cardinal verities had not been fully real- 
ized by him before these services com- 
menced, he now felt it to be a spring of 
joy and satisfaction to his soul such as 
language could hardly express. And then 
how shall I speak of the gladness that has 
filled our hearts when we heard, as we did 
almost from day to day, of conversions in 
our congregations, of parents rejoicing 
over sons and daughters brought to Jesus, 
of young men consecrating their manhood 
and strength to God, and of converts of- 
fering themselves for any department of 
Christian service. 

If our dear friend, Mr. Moody, had ac- 
complished nothing more than the quick- 
ening of the ministers of this great centre 
of population, and stirring us up to greater 
devotion to our glorious vocation as " la- 
borers together with God," his visit would 
not have been in vain. Give us a revived 
ministry, and we shall soon see a revived 
church. 

Next to the Christian ministry, I believe 
the great army of Christian workers have 
shared most largely in the blessing. Per- 
haps the most remarkable, in every respect, 
of all the services held by the evangelists 
during their stay here were those on Sun- 
day mornings in the Free Trade Hall. 
With the exception of one of these morn- 
ings, the weather was as severe as any we 
have had in this exceptionally severe win- 
ter, and yet the vast building was densely 
packed, at the early hour of eight, with 
audiences presumably composed of Sun- 
day-school teachers, tract distributors, dis- 
trict visitors, missionaries, evangelists, etc , 



drawn not only from the city and borough, 
but from the whole surrounding district. 
The fruits of these wonderful meetings are 
already apparent. I question if there be 
a single Christian agency in all Manchester 
that has not been the better for them. From 
that one meeting, as from a great fountain- 
head, streams of blessing have flowed, are 
flowing still, and, I believe, will continue 
to flow, that will spread life and beauty 
over the whole field of Christian work, 
such as we have not witnessed here before. 
Teachers went straight from the hall, in 
many instances, to their classes, with their 
souls fired with love for their scholars. 
Missionaries received fresh impetus and 
courage for their peculiarly difficult work 
of going from door to door, knocking for 
admittance in the name of Jesus. Visit- 
ors of tract districts felt stimulated to 
greater diligence in the discharge of their 
important duty, as the bearers of those 
silent monitors from house to house that 
have so often brought " light into the 
dwelling." Above all, drones felt rebuked, 
and ceased to be drones. Recruits in large 
numbers were enlisted in the name of our 
Lord and King. Many who had been 
languidly sighing out, " My leanness, my 
leanness!" were constrained to cry out, 
"My laziness, my laziness!" and to add 
in all seriousness, " Lord, what wilt Thou 
have me to do ?" In short, could our 
American brethren repeat these addresses 
in that great hall once every year, they 
would do for our various Christian organ- 
izations what requires to be done period- 
ically for the machinery of our mills and 
factories — overhaul them completely, re- 
new and improve much of their belting 
gearing, and render their operation at once 
more vigorous and more productive. 
. The noon prayer-meeting has also been 
largely blessed. Like some old Eastern 
well, it has been daily visited by hundreds, 
who have refreshed their souls with the 
water of life, and returned to their busi- 
nesses and their homes feeling that the 
" sweet hour of prayer " was the sweetest 
of all the hours of the day. And the re- 
quests for prayer that have been presented, 
— who shall number them ? — who shall even 
classify them ? Above all, who shall say 
what revelations they afforded of the yearn- 
ing solicitude, the agonizing supplications, 
the impassioned cries, that exercise the 
souls of immortal beings, in every relation 
and condition of life, in this world of dis- 
tance and darkness ? Whatever some may 



MANCHESTER. 



109 



think of this novel feature in the mode of 
conducting a prayer-meeting, I feel sure, 
from observation and experience, that it 
has imparted new life and interest to a 
much-neglected institution. These re- 
quests have given reality and intensity to 
the prayers that were offered. They drew 
out our sympathies towards our fellow- 
Christians, in connection with trials and 
wants such as never entered our minds to 
conceive. They made us feel that " one 
touch of Nature makes the whole world 
kin," that " as in water, face answereth to 
face, so doth the heart of man," that we 
are all members of the one family called 
by the one name of Jesus Christ. They 
did more than that — they gave us glimpses 
of the fullness that is in our Redeemer, out 
of which so many thousands may draw, 
" and grace for grace " — " enough for all, 
enough for each, enough forevermore." 
And, in hundreds of cases, they have not 
been in vain, if we may judge by the fact, 
so frequently brought out at these meet- 
ings, that thanksgivings have been publicly 
made for abundant answers to them, some- 
times vouchsafed in very wonderful ways. 
Parents have stood up and given thanks 
for the conversion of their children, and 
children for the conversion of their par- 
ents — brothers for the conversion of sis- 
ters, and sisters for the conversion of 
brothers — teachers for the conversion of 
their scholars, and ministers for the con- 
version of some even of their church-mem- 
bers. " And now, O Lord, we thank and 
praise Thy glorious name!" "Not unto 
us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy 
name, be praise, for Thy mercy, and for Thy 
truth's sake !" " Praise the Lord, O Jeru- 
salem ; praise thy God, O Zion, for He 
hath strengthened the bars of thy gates ; 
He hath blessed thy children within thee !" 
The afternoon Bible-readings have 
been greatly relished by thousands. At 
these Mr. Moody surprised and delighted 
many of us ministers by his wonderful 
acquaintance with the Word of God. 
Whatever the subject in hand, whether the 
Blood, confessing Christ, the Holy Spirit, 
grace, faith, or assurance, he proved him- 
self to be a very giant in Bible knowledge ; 
and though the immense audiences, com- 
prising some of the best of our citizens, 
did not come provided with the Book so 
generally as they might have done, I have 
reason to believe that in hundreds of cases 
they went home to it with souls hungering 
after righteousness, and determined to be- 



come better acquainted with the word of 
life. 

THE EVANGELISTIC MEETINGS. 

What shall I say of these in closing? 
They have been blessed to vast numbers- 
In the inquiry-room, I have met with many 
who stated that they had never had the 
way of salvation so plainly put before 
them as by Mr. Moody. In not a few in- 
stances, too, Mr. Sankey's beautiful and 
touching solos, especially " Jesus of Naza- 
reth passeth by," " Almost persuaded," and 
" Prodigal child," have proved to be ar- 
rows of conviction, entering the heart in 
the most unexpected manner, and leading 
to conversion. And what shall I more say ? 
for the time would fail me to tell of all the 
blessed fruits, already apparent, of the ex- 
traordinary efforts of these dear men of 
God. Suffice it to say, in a sentence, that 
all classes of the community — old and 
young, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, 
ministers and laymen, masters and ser- 
vants, teachers and scholars — have received 
a large blessing from the religious services 
conducted by the American brethren, and 
are deeply sensible, I trust, of the mighty 
debt of gratitude under which they have 
been laid. The Lord bless them, and 
make them blessings, wherever they go ! 



XL 

The closing week has been the most joy- 
ful of all. The tide of blessing, which has 
been steadily rising, has this week reached 
its flood ; the earnestness of the preacher 
and the eagerness of the people have 
seemed alike to intensify, and the uncon- 
verted have been called to take refuge in 
Christ with a vehemence of entreaty which 
has exerted a mighty influence on the as- 
semblies. During these five weeks God 
has answered the prayers of many years, 
and we cannot but feel that what has been 
going on in the city has made Manchester 
peculiarly interesting to the dwellers in 
heaven. 

At nine on Wednesday evening, about 
2,000 men reassembled in the hall, to hear 
what Mr. Moody had to say on the sub- 
ject of the Young Men's Christian Associ- 
ation. Mr. Herbert Spencer occupied the 
chair, and gave a brief address, intimating 
that it was in contemplation to buy the Mu- 
seum for the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation, for ^30,000. Mr. Moody deliv- 



no 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



ered an inspiring address, in which he en- 
larged on the spiritual advantages of the As- 
sociation, and urged the straining of every 
effort to reach the young men of Manches- 
ter, and to secure the building in question 
for the Association. A collection towards 
the object, made at the close, realized 
;£i,-8oo, ;£i,ooo of which was given, I be- 
lieve, by the chairman. This amount, with 
what has been received before, including 
^"500 given last week by Mr. J. Stuart, 
makes a total, at present received or 
promised, of ^8,000. 

On Thursday morning, Mr. Moody ad- 
dressed a crowded meeting in the Higher 
Broughton Presbyterian Church, and then 
came on to the noon prayer-meeting in the 
Oxford Hall, where he read and com- 
mented on the earlier part of the 103d 
Psalm. He said he had to bless the Lord 
for what He had done for him. It had 
been the best year of his life. He had 
been more used by God than in all the 
seventeen preceding years. He did not 
know of one sermon he had delivered 
that had not been blessed to the convic- 
tion or conversion of some souls. It was 
a delightful meeting. Every word uttered 
was set to the tune of " Bless the Lord, O 
my soul !" When one minister rose to 
say, " I have to praise God for the conver- 
sion of the brother of dear friends of mine, 



who have prayed for him twenty-five years ; 
for the conversion of the sister and of the 
servant of another friend ; for the salvation 
of three persons in my own congregation, 
for the dispelling of the doubts of a young 
man who traveled 150 miles to these meet- 
ings — all which blessings have been given 
in the course of the present week;" when 
another minister rose to say he had never 
met with so much of scriptural teaching 
concerning the way of salvation, and the 
clear direction of inquirers to Jesus, as in 
Mr. Moody's addresses; and another to 
say that the last ten days had been the 
happiest of his life — that he had derived 
an inspiration, had discovered how tc 
preach Christ, had enjoyed sweeter com- 
munion with Jesus, and felt like a man 
whose chains were broken — they only ut- 
tered what many could have endorsed, as 
a description of the blessings they them- 
selves had received. 

Our beloved brethren left in the after- 
noon for Sheffield, whither our prayers fol- 
low them. They are to return, however, 
for Friday and Saturday, January 8 and 9, 
and then we hope not only to have a repe- 
tition of the blessings we have so abun- 
dantly received, but to hear glad tidings of 
similar grace bestowed on the neighboring 
town. 



THE "WORK IN SHEFFIELD, 



I. 

On Thursday afternoon, our beloved 
brethren, whose visit has been looked for- 
ward to with much earnest desire by the 
Lord's people here, arrived from Man- 
chester, and held their first meetings, the 
same evening, in the Temperance and 
Albert Halls. 

Considerable excitement was manifested, 
a few days ago, when it was reported that 
the clergy of the Church of England had 
withdrawn from the executive committee, 
and that, in consequence, Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey had refused to pay their ex- 
pected visit. It is, however, a matter of 
deep thankfulness to God that this diffi- 
culty has been overcome. The clergy 
have rejoined the committee, and every- 



thing is working smoothly. I am glad to 
be able to state that the difficulty was only 
one of a mere technical kind, arising from 
a proposed scheme of house-to-house visi 
tation which interfered with parochial 
boundaries ; and in their letter of with- 
drawal, the clergy stated that their only 
motive in doing so was to remove the 
hindrances to the visitation, and that their 
feelings and sympathies were unchanged 
as regards Messrs. Moody and Sankey's 
mission. When, however, it became known 
that, in consequence of their action, Mr. 
Moody had declined to come to Sheffield, 
the visitation scheme, which formed a part 
of Messrs. Moody and Sankey's personal 
work, was abandoned for the present, and 
the clergy, as I have said, rejoined the 
committee, and are now working most 



SHEFFIELD. 



in 



heartily with the ministers of other denom- 
inations, for the furtherance of the one 
blessed object of leading perishing souls to 
Christ. 



II. 

The work has opened here most auspi- 
ciously; the two meetings held on New 
Year's eve were crowded, and the impres- 
sions produced were most solemn. 

The first meeting was held in the Tem- 
perance Hall at nine o'clock. Mr. Sankey 
sang a new hymn written by Dr. H. Bonar 
expressly for him, " Rejoice, and be glad ! 
the Redeemer has come." The air, which 
has been set to these words, is peculiarly 
appropriate, a bright, joyous melody. 

The impression produced by his singing 
was very striking ; those who _ had been 
merely curious or altogether indifferent, 
seemed attracted, and earnest attention 
and even, in some cases, silent weeping, 
took the place of carelessness. Mr. Moody 
spoke on the subject of " Work," dwelling 
chiefly on Isaiah vi. 8 : " Here am I ; send 
me." His address was well fitted to stir 
the Christians of this town to be up and 
doing. In concluding, he appealed to all 
to come forward heart and soul, " and let 
us have a fortnight of faithful, prayerful 
work for God." The watch night service 
was particularly solemn. The Albert Hall, 
where it was held, was crowded, many 
having stood before the doors an hour be- 
fore they were opened, in order to make 
sure of admittance. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey were ac- 
companied onto the platform by a large 
number of ministers of all denominations, 
amongst whom were the following: the 
Vicar (the Rev. Rowley Hill), Rev. R. 
Stainton, Rev. J. Smith, Rev. R. Poole, 
Rev. R. Green, Rev. J. Flather, Rev. P. 
Whyte, Rev. J. Calvert, Rev. H. H. 
Wright, Rev. M. Washington, Rev. G. J. 
Watts, Rev. W. Cobby, Rev. B. Trotter, 
and many others. The Vicar offered up a 
fervent prayer for the Divine blessing on 
the work in Sheffield. 

One most interesting feature in this ser- 
vice was Mr. Sankey's singing of " Jesus 
of Ndzareth passeth by." It might be the 
novelty of his style, or the associations 
naturally arising at the near approach of 
the new year, but I certainly have never 
seen such an effect produced. I have 
heard him in all the towns they have visit- 
ed in Scotland, and also in Manchester; 



but I never heard him sing so pathetically, 
more especially in the last stanzas : 

" Too late ! too late ! will be the cr)% 
Jesus of Nazareth has passed by." 

Mr. Moody spoke from Luke xix. 10, 
" For the Son of man is come to seek and 
to save that which was lost." As illus- 
trating this verse, he graphically narrated 
the two stories immediately preceding his 
text, that of the opening of the eyes of 
blind Bartimeus, and the conversion of 
Zaccheus. It was only a re-telling of the 
stories, but given in that way peculiarly 
Mr. Moody's own, making his listeners 
part and parcel of the story, as if the 
whole thing were enacted just in the Tar- 
gate, and Jesus were just passing the hall- 
doors. He connected the two stories by 
throwing out the thought that as Bartimeus 
was on his way home to tell his wife, Zac- 
cheus met him. " Why, isn't that the poor 
blind beggar — it's like him ; but it can't 
be he, for his eyes are open." 
" Yes, it is I." 

" What has made your eyes open ?" 
" Jesus of Nazareth did it." 
"Where is He? I must see Him." 
" He's just on the road to Jericho." 
Away Zaccheus runs ; and because he 
is a little man, he gets up a tree, to see 
well. Jesus stops, looks up, calls him, 
"Zaccheus, come down." This was one 
instance of sudden conversion. Some 
don't believe in sudden conversion; but 
here Zaccheus was not converted when he 
went up the tree, yet he came down a con- 
verted man. We are told he received 
Jesus gladly. From these incidents, he 
proved how willing, how eager Christ is to 
save all. What have we to do ? Nothing ! 
blessed be God. If we had, we would 
never do it. Only accept. What had 
Zaccheus to do ? Only come down, only 

obey. 

He concluded by drawing the attention 
of the audience to the fact that the old 
year was fast dying — only a few minutes 
— and what if the new year should come 
and find us where we were — lost ! Oh, 
let each of us take it, the offer is here ; 
will you have it ? Salvation — ay, even be- 
fore this year is closed you may be saved. 
As there are only a few minutes of this 
year remaining, let us finish the old and 
begin the new on our knees. 

The whole audience then sank on their 
knees, and the new year found them bent 
in silent prayer. Mr. Moody asked that 



112 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



those who were unsaved might stand up, 
that they might be prayed for. For a 
time none were willing to do so, but on 
Mr. Moody's asking a second time " if 
there were none in the hall wishing salva- 
tion," a few stood up, and the Christians 
were asked to pray for them. 

Just then the bells began to ring in the 
new year, and the Rev. R. Green engaged 
in prayer for an outpouring of the Holy 
Ghost on the town of Sheffield, and most 
particularly on the special meetings to be 
held. Mr. Moody also engaged in prayer. 
This was one of the most solemn scenes I 
h?ve ever been privileged to witness. 
While the audience were bent in prayer, 
the most intense stillness prevailed, broken 
only by an occasional sob. After singing 
the Doxology, the meeting separated. 

The streets were made lively after the 
meeting with vigorous singing of hymns, as 
bands of Christians wended their way 
home. 

New Year's Day. — The noon-day meet- 
ing was held in the lower Cutlers' Hall. 
It is a great pity this hall is so dark and 
confined. The platform is nothing but a 
mere box. It is to be hoped the ensuing 
meetings will be held in some hall more 
suited for speaking. Mr. Moody chose as 
his subject, " Faith," as illustrated by the 
healing of the leper and that of the man 
sick of the palsy, in the fifth chapter of 
Luke. Mr. Sankey engaged in prayer, and 
also sang his beautiful solo, " Whatsoever 
a man scweth that shall he also reap." 



III. 

Friday evening meeting was also held in 
the Cutlers' Hall. After the opening hymn, 
" Free from the law, O happy condition !" 
had been sung, the Rev. F. Kellet engaged 
in prayer. Mr. Sankey sang " The Ninety 
and nine ;" before singing it, he asked that 
whilst he was singing, Christian friends 
might pray for the salvation of those who 
were wanderers. 

■ Mr. Moody's address was on the " Gos- 
pel" (Mark xvi. 15) : "Go ye into all the 
world and preach the gospel to every 
creature." 

At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. 
Moody said there would be a prayer-meet- 
ing for those who loved the Lord, and 
asked any who were in anxiety about their 
souls to go into the side room. He ex- 



plained that an inquiry-meeting was sim- 
ply to give an opportunity for a little pri- 
vate talk about salvation to any who wished 
it. He had found in all his experience 
that he could do more good in five min- 
utes' private talk with a man, than in five 
hours' talk from the platform. 

The noon-day meeting on Saturday was 
intended particularly for parents and chil- 
dren. It was held in the Temperance 
Hall. Mr. Moody spoke the truths of the 
glorious gospel in such a simple style that 
the youngest child could not fail to catch 
his meaning. He kept their attention 
fixed by judicious questions, such as, 
" What did Jesus come to this world 
for?" "To save us." "Who did He 
come to save ? " " Sinners." "Are there 
any sinners here to-day ?" "Yes." "Are 
there many ? " " Yes, we are all sinners." 
" What will take away our sins ? " " The 
blood of Jesus." 

In this way he interested the little ones, 
and at the same time his address must 
have been most impressive to all present, 
more especially to those who were parents, 
as he dwelt very strongly upon the duty 
of seeing that the children were led to 
Jesus in their youth. 



IV. 

Sunday, January 3. — Truly this has 
been a day of blessing for Sheffield. The 
meetings have been attended with most 
blessed results. 

The morning meeting for Christian 
workers was not, perhaps, so well attended 
in point of numbers as might have been 
expected, but the Christians who had 
come out at this early hoar were right- 
down hearty workers. As Mr. Moody 
said, " He would rather have a moderately 
small meeting of such earnest Christians 
than have it packed with thousands of 
careless people." His address was on 
" Work " (Mark xiii. 14) : " To every man 
his work." Faithfully and earnestly did 
he lay it before his audience, that there 
was for each one some appointed work, 
and if we neglect it we must answer for 
it. He also showed the joy of working 
for the Lord, and its reflex effect on our 
souls in building up and comforting our 
hearts. 

At the afternoon meeting, the Albert 
Hall was densely packed half an hour be- 
fore the time ; the lower Albert Hall was 



SHEFFIELD. 



"3 



thrown open for the overflow, but even 
then many had to go away disappointed. 

Mr. Moody addressed this large gather- 
ing from Rom. ii. 23 : " For there is no 
difference." Many must have been startled 
•by the plain way in which he put this 
truth before them, that all are alike in 
God's sight. He does not divide by 
classes or ranks, rich and poor. The 
only division before God is saved and un- 
saved. 

Many were evidently struck to the 1 
heart ; some whom we heard scoffing at 
the commencement, were in tears at the 
conclusion of his address. 

When Mr. Sankey followed by singing, 
" Free from the law, O happy condition ! " 
it seemed to produce a deep impression. 

The Sunday evening meeting was glori- 
ous. The hall was again densely packed. 
Mr. Sankey sang his solo, " There were 
ninety and nine." Mr. Moody then gave 
his address on " Regeneration," from the 
words, " Ye must be born again " (John 
iii. 7). His thrilling words must have 
gone to the heart of many grieved ones 
who had been awakened by the former 
address to a sense of their lost condition. 
The result of the whole proceedings in 
Sheffield since the coming of our dear 
brethren, must be considered highly satis- 
factory, and as affording great cause for 
thankfulness. 

Sheffield has been cold and indifferent 
to religious matters, but we hope that now 
when it has been shaken the blessed result 
of this work will be a new zeal for the 
service of the Lord, and a desire to win 
souls for Christ. 



V. 

The past week has been a time of pente- 
costal blessing in Sheffield. The town has 
been stirred to its depths ; more, perhaps, 
than any of the towns in England the 
evangelists have yet visited, considering 
the short time they have been here ; and 
the Spirit of the Lord has been manifestly 
working in many hearts that have hitherto 
been strangers to His power. Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey have been the sub- 
ject of common conversation; and while, 
no doubt, much of it has been nothing 
more than curious talk, yet there remains 
a large and solid substratum of good, and, 
I trust, lasting, result. And yet there does 
not appear to be any disposition to unduly 



magnify the human agents in the work. 
The mouths of those who do not sympa- 
thize with the movement have been won- 
derfully silent; and the overshadowing 
presence and power of God have revealed 
themselves, even in this respect. 

The Sheffield Methodist devotes a large 
proportion of its space to a record of the 
meetings, and says, in a sketch of Mr. 
Moody : 

" Some say that the secret of his success 
is to be found in Mr. Sankey's music and 
singing. Some say it is to be found in 
that tact which draws large numbers of 
the most Christian ministers and laymen 
around him. Our impression and belief 
is this : he is full of the love of Christ and 
true gospel simplicity ; is filled with the 
Holy Ghost and with faith ; fears nobody, 
loves everybody, has full confidence in his 
plan of working, and in a deep and well- 
developed Christian experience ; carries 
in his own bosom that divinely-written 
commentary on the truth of God which 
causes him to pour forth streams of spirit- 
ual light over the minds of his crowding 
auditors. The consequence is, the hand 
of the Lord is with him, and multitudes 
believe and turn to the Lord, both men 
and women — yea, and children also. 

" We have been told that some of Mr. 
Sankey's hymns are rather childish. Our 
answer was, that the older, wiser, and bet- 
ter we grow, the more childlike we be- 
come. Praise God for sweet hymns, in 
which both very old and very young Chris- 
tians can happily join." 

The Sheffield. Independent, of Saturday, 
reports several of Mr. Moody's addresses 
at considerable length. Of course, the 
burning earnestness and homely bluntness 
of his delivery, or the wonderfully moving 
charm of Mr. Sankey's singing, cannot 'be 
reproduced by any verbal description; 
and these will always attract the multitude, 
both careless and Christian, although the 
words used may be familiar. 

The meetings on Monday and Tuesday 
of last week do not call for any special no- 
tice. They were crowded — sometimes to 
excess — and in every way indicative of 
most hopeful results. 

On Wednesday, Mr. Moody and Mr. 
Sankey were both at Manchester, and on 
Thursday, as the Albert Hall was engaged 
for a ball in the evening, the evangelists 
did not hold any public service, but from 
three to ten o'clock p. m. a special meet- 
ing for inquirers, in the Temperance Hall, 



ii4 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



was attended by a constant stream of 
anxious ones, who were pointed Christ- 
ward, there, as I trust, to lose their bur- 
dens. 

Mr. Moody spoke no less than four 
times on Friday, on each occasion with 
much power, and with signs following. 
It need scarcely be added that Mr. San- 
key's solos, including such favorites as 
" Only an armor-bearer," " Dare to be a 
Daniel," " Whiter than snow," etc., deep- 
ened the influences produced by Mr. 
Moody's impassioned discourses. Indeed, 
it is made more and more manifest that 
the special gifts of each evangelist have 
been most happily wedded together for the 
common purpose they have in view. 

At the closing service in the evening 
there was no diminution either in the at- 
tendance or the interest. It was chiefly 
intended for the young converts, who were 
admitted by ticket, and crowded a large 
part of the area of the Albert Hall. Both 
the galleries were also crammed long be- 
fore the hour of commencing. It was a 
glorious and inspiring sight to look on such 
a vast sea of human faces, all lit up with 
eager expectation, and all assembled to 
hear the simple story of the Saviour's 
grace and power. The scene was more 
impressive still when, at the appointed 
hour, Mr. Moody and Mr. Sankey having 
quietly crossed the front of the platform, 
and taken their seats, the whole assembly 
rose and joined in singing the hymn, 

" Ring the bells of heaven, there is joy to-day, 
For a soul returning from the wild." 

And afterwards, in that jubilant old hymn 
that used to be sung at revival meetings 
fifteen years ago, and is ever fresh and 
new : 

" O happy day ! that fixed my choice 
On Thee, my Saviour and my God ; 
Well may this glowing heart rejoice, 
And tell its raptures all abroad." 

After Mr. Sankey had sung " Whiter 
than snow," Mr. Moody spoke with his 
accustomed pungency, simplicity, and 
power, chiefly addressing the young con- 
verts. Surely they will never be able to 
forget his words of affectionate encourage- 
ment and caution, as he pointed out the 
dangers that would inevitably come to 
them in their Christian life, and the unfail- 
ing source of strength amidst them all. 
Then came his parting words, evidently 
painful alike to speaker and hearers. " I 
have learned to love you," said Mr. Moody, 



and the earnest gaze and tearful eyes be- 
fore him testified, more loudly than words, 
how his love was reciprocated, and his 
labors and counsels prized. I was forcibly 
reminded of the scene of Paul's farewell 
meeting with the elders at Miletum. I 
verily believe that many hundreds of 
young converts would, one and all, have 
fallen on Mr. Moody's neck, and kissed 
him, sorrowing most of all for the words 
which he spake, that they should see his 
face no more. One little fellow, at the 
close of the meeting, came to me in great 
distress when he found that Mr. Moody 
had left without having given him a shake 
of his hand. 

Before the meeting was dismissed, Mr. 
Sankey sang a parting hymn to the ten- 
derly pathetic tune of " Home, sweet 
home," and the vast crowd lingered long 
in the hall where Christ had won so 
many sons and daughters within the past 
two weeks. 

The work am.ong the young men has 
been taking root during the 'week, and 
now that the counter-attraction of Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey's services is wanting, 
it is believed that the meetings specially 
for young men will be largely attended 
and much blessed. Mr. Drummond re- 
mains in Sheffield during this week, to 
assist in consolidating the work among this 
important class of the community. It has 
been a " Happy New Year " for Sheffield, 
and the faith of the Lord's people prompts 
them to hope that " still there's more to 
follow." 

Upwards of eighty — clergymen of all 
the evangelical denominations in the 
town, and the other members of the com- 
mittee — met Messrs. Moody and Sankey 
at breakfast in the Imperial Hotel, on 
Saturday morning, to bid them farewell. 
Reporters were excluded, but I understand 
that the unanimous expression of the com- 
pany was one of gratitude to the evangel- 
ists for their untiring and successful labors 
in Sheffield, and for the spirit of cordial 
co-operation among the various divisions 
of the Church that their visit had so bless- 
edly generated. Practical as he always is 
Mr. Moody used the occasion to urge up- 
on the committee the necessity of rearing 
a central and suitable building in the town, 
where all those interested in the continued 
success of the work could meet on neutral 
ground, and carry on the meetings. An 
influential committee of laymen was ap- 
pointed to take immediate steps for carry- 



BIRMINGHAM. 



"5 



ing out the suggestion, so that the good 
work may go on. 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey left for Bir- 
mingham on Saturday afternoon, attended 
by the prayers and good wishes of hun- 



dreds in Sheffield whose hearts have been 
made glad, and whose lives have been 
illumined through their instrumentality. 
May our loving Father in heaven have all 
the praise ! 



THE WORK IN BIRMINGHAM. 



I. 

There is every outward indication that 
the wave of spiritual awakening and quick- 
ening, now passing over our land, is about 
to make itself felt in this very large and 
important centre of the world's industry 
also. Messrs. Moody and Sankey began 
their labors here on Sunday last, January 
17, and they are to remain in the town for 
two weeks. Birmingham has been called 
" the toy-shop of the world," and its im- 
mense population — which amounts to 
nearly 400,000 — is largely made up of the 
artisan class. Experience has shown that 
wherever the American evangelists have 
gone — though their services have been at- 
tended in some towns by numbers of those 
in the higher ranks of society, socially con- 
sidered, and also by a sprinkling of the 
very poor and degraded — the bulk of those 
coming under their influence have belonged 
to what we are accustomed to call the mid- 
dle classes. There is, therefore, a wide 
field in Birmingham for the efforts of our 
American brethren, and the meetings on 
Sunday were such as to encourage the hope 
of much success. 

Their first meeting was held at the some- 
what early hour of eight, but long before, 
just as the grey dawn was breaking up, 
streams of people were moving with hur- 
ried feet from all directions to the place of 
meeting, the Town Hall. By the time 
that Messrs. Moody and Sankey appeared 
on the platform, the fine hall was crowded, 
passages and all, with some 3,000 people. 
The meeting was advertised for " Christian 
workers," but there did not appear to be 
any restrictions as to admission. I would 
fain cherish the hope that those present on 
Sunday morning who have hitherto done 
any work for Christ, went away with a 
deeper determination to devote themselves 
to it, inspired by the stirring words of Mr. 
Moody, and constrained by the heart- 



melting tones of Mr. Sankey's sacred 
songs. 

The whole audience joined heartily at 
the commencement, in singing " Hold the 
fort," an evident proof that the hymns 
used at these services have now become 
almost household possessions. Then Mr. 
Sankey sang, amid the utmost silence, the 
rousing hymn, " Here am I, send me." 

Mr. Moody's address was directed 
specially to workers, and was well fitted 
to awaken the slumbering energies of the 
Church. Mr. Moody is very careful in his 
addresses to lose his personality in his 
theme, but the characteristics of Christian 
workers, on which he insisted, are all re- 
markably apparent in his own character. 
They were " courage," " love," and " en- 
thusiasm," and one could not fail to be im- 
pressed with the notion that he was speak- 
ing the things that in his inmost soul he 
knew and acted out. His wonderful mag- 
netic power was shown when he related 
some of his oft-told illustrations, which 
seemed to lose none of their wonted effect 
by repetition. Numbers of the local 
clergy and ministers were on the platform. 

Half-past two was the specified hour for 
the afternoon service in the Town Hall, but 
I believe the building was surrounded by 
crowds waiting admission about mid-day ; 
and when I reached the hall, some time 
before the hour, ingress was almost impos- 
sible. At the church which stands oppo- 
site, the ordinary service was going on, and 
it too was speedily filled with disappointed 
crowds, while hundreds went away. I suc- 
ceeded in getting into the hall with much 
difficulty, just as Mr. Sankey was about to 
sing for a closing hymn, " The Ninety and 
nine." His few touching words before he 
commenced to sing, and the pleading tones 
of his rich, full voice, as he sang of the 
lost one brought back at such a terrible 
cost, evidently moved and thrilled many 
hearts, and after the benediction was pro- 



n6 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 






nounced, everybody seemed unwilling to 
depart. 

Mr. Moody's theme, I learned, was " the 
old, old story " of the cross — the " good 
news ;" and its effect may be judged from 
a remark made to me at the close of the 
meeting — by a Methodist local preacher 
and class leader, who, he said, had been 
converted thirty-five years — that he had 
never seen such a service in Birmingham 
before. 

After the audience had slowly filtered 
out, a large number of people who had 
been unable to gain admittance, rushed in, 
but as there was nobody apparently ap- 
pointed to speak in such an emergency, 
and Messrs. Moody and Sankey had gone, 
the)^ were obliged to retire. One roughly- 
clad man, to all appearance a common la- 
borer, who had come in after the meeting 
was over, seemed much disappointed. He 
had walked, in the rain, nearly six miles, 
in order to hear Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey, and arrived too late to gain 
an entrance. He said he had to walk 
back again and preach the same evening. 
He was somewhat relieved when he suc- 
ceeded in obtaining a ticket for the work- 
ers' meeting next Sunday morning ; but 
I suspect he will have to start from home 
before Birmingham is awake, if he is to 
make sure of getting inside the Town Hall. 

Such a gathering has seldom, if ever, 
been seen in this town, as was witnessed 
in the Bingley Hall on Sunday evening. 
Birmingham has the reputation of being 
a hot-bed of political agitation ; and on 
one occasion, I am informed, this stupen- 
dous building was filled to overflowing to 
hear John Bright ; but it is a new thing 
for it to be crowded with 10,000 souls to 
hear the grospel preached and sung. 
There must have been at least that num- 
ber inside the doors, and how many were 
excluded I cannot say ; but the service 
was somewhat disturbed ever and anon by 
the clamoring multitude outside knocking 
at the doors for admission. It was a sight 
truly gladdening to behold, and never to 
be forgotten. 

For an hour or so before Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey arrived, the time was occupied 
in singing hymns, and as soon as they 
reached the platform, Mr. Moody asked 
all to join in singing the doxology, " Praise 
God from whom all blessings flow." It 
was repeated at his request, with a more 
overpowering volume of sound than be- 
fore. 



Mr. Sankey sang " Jesus of Nazareth 
passeth by," and subsequently, " The 
Ninety and nine," and his voice rang 
through the immense building with won- 
derful effect. 

Mr. Moody delivered a powerful and 
affectionate address on " The Gospel," in 
continuation of his afternoon's address on 
the same subject. He seemed as if he 
could never tire of dilating on the absolute 
freeness and fullness of the offer of salva- 
tion, and his illustrations, as usual, were 
very telling and appropriate. 

Altogether it has been a memorable day 
in Birmingham. At none of the meetings, 
however, was any provision apparently 
made for inquirers ; but this will no doubt 
be seen to as the necessity arises, which I 
trust and believe it will. 

Mr. Moody announced that there would 
be services in Bingley Hall every evening 
except Saturday, at half-past seven o'clock, 
and a noon prayer-meeting every day in 
the Town Hall. 

Thus the movement has taken root in 
Birmingham, and great and glorious results 
may be confidently expected. 



II. 

Never before in Birmingham have any 
preachers drawn such vast numbers of 
people as these brethren are doing at this 
time. Thousands are flocking daily to 
hear them from the districts around. The 
whole community seems stirred up. That 
which seems to be uppermost in men's 
minds, is the present marvelous gather- 
ings that are daily taking place. There is 
no lack of opportunity for the Christian to 
put in a word for the Master, for wherever 
you go, whether in the counting-house, 
shop, refreshment-room, train, omnibus, 
and even as you walk along the street, the 
one topic is the doings of these wonderful 
men of God. If you want to get a seat at 
their meetings, you must be there fully one 
hour before the time, and a stranger en- 
tering the town must be struck with the 
determination of those who daily seek 
these gatherings. 

Every day this week hundreds have 
been turned away from the noon-day meet- 
ings held in the Town Hall. Meetings 
are now being held in Carr's Lane Chapel 
every afternoon at three o'clock, and here 
again it is necessary to be there some time 
before the service commences. In fact, 
yesterday I was there at two o'clock, and 



BIRMINGHAM. 



117 



the body of the chapel was then filled. It 
is estimated that three thousand people are 
in this building every afternoon. 

To convey to the mind of the reader the 
sight which presents itself on entering 
Bingley Hall (the place of evening meet- 
ing) is impossible. Sloping down from 
the galleries which run round the build- 
ing, other galleries have been erected, and 
the whole building, from the speaker's 
platform, looks like one vast amphitheatre. 
The crimson cloth which drapes the gal- 
leries adds to the general effect, and makes 
the hall (said to be one of the dreariest- 
looking buildings in the Midland coun- 
ties) look very comfortable. The immense 
sea of faces is singularly impressive, espe- 
cially when from 12,000 to 15,000 people 
are listening eagerly to catch the words 
that fall from the speaker's lips. 

The question may be asked, What effect 
is this movement having upon the people 
in general ? I reply, good every way. The 
stirring addresses given by Mr. Moody to 
Christians from the very first morning, are 
bearing fruit. They are beginning to look 
about, and realize that thousands- around 
them are living without Christ. Many 
Christians have spoken to me of the fresh 
energy with which they have been stimu- 
lated, through attending the meetings. As 
for those who nightly throng Bingley Hall, 
the best test of the work I can give is, that 
whereas at first the after-meetings were 
held in a neighboring church, the anxious 
ones have now become so numerous, that 
they are obliged to remain in the hall, 
while earnest Christian workers, with Bible 
in hand, pass from one to another, and 
open to inquirers the way of life. 

All this proves to us the great power of 
God, and what He can do by two men 
who give themselves wholly up to Him. 
The work " is marvelous in our eyes," but 
it is not less marvelous that their physical 
strength does not give way under their 
unceasing labors. While Mr. Sankey is 
greatly gifted with power to use his voice 
in singing the gospel, Mr. Moody has a 
way of marvelously picturing, in the most 
vivid manner, Bible truths. From the 
humorous he can come down to the pa- 
thetic, and so move his hearers to tears, 
and withal there is a " holy boldness " 
which is seldom to be met with in the 
preachers of the present day. May the 
Lord bless abundantly the efforts of these 
men, who have produced such an unusual 
and powerful effect upon Birmingham. 



III. 

The Morning News says : " Never be- 
fore in the history of Birmingham, I be- 
lieve, have two men drawn such large 
numbers of people together as Messrs. 
Moody and Sankey have done, time after 
time, during the whole of last week and 
yesterday. The Town Hall, Carr's Lane 
Chapel, and Bingley Hall have been en- 
tirely filled at most of their meetings, un- 
comfortably crowded at some, and all but 
full at one or two others. Since com- 
mencing their labors here, they have held 
twenty-two services, namely, four in Carr's 
Lane Chapel, six in the Town Hall, and 
twelve in Bingley Hall. No doubt in 
many cases the same persons presented 
themselves at the meetings again and 
again ; but it is probable that the au- 
diences were, for the most part, different 
on each occasion. At the four meetings 
in Carr's Lane Chapel some 12,000, at the 
six in the Town Hall about 24,000, and at 
the twelve in Bingley Hall, at least 120,000 
persons must have been present, making a 
total of 156,000 men, women, and chil- 
dren, to whom, during the last eight days, 
they have preached and sung the gospel. 
Nor does the interest in the men and their 
work as yet know any abatement, it being 
likely that the services to be held this week 
will be as numerously attended as those of 
last week." 



IV. 

Amidst all the cavil of unbelief, and 
other opponents, thousands can testify, 
day by day, to the reality and power, widely 
spreading and deepening blessing upon 
their souls. Sinners have been converted 
to God, and believers edified. Whole con- 
gregations, both in churches and chapels, 
have felt its animating power. The clergy 
and ministers of various denominations 
have rejoiced together in this blessed work 
of the Lord, and felt its quickening influ- 
ence. Many of the Lord's servants have 
met together for the first time, and felt 
their hearts drawn out in brotherly love 
and sympathy, enabling them to overlook 
various minor differences of creed and 
chuixh government. 

The noon-day prayer-meeting was first 
held in the Town Hall, which large build- 
ing was filled long before the appointed 
hour. A very solemn and prayerful spirit 
seemed to pervade the masses — the still- 



n8 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



ness was quite impressive, and the great 
bulk of the people seemed to enter most 
deeply into the importance and solemnity 
of the occasion. The numbers at the 
noon-day prayer-meeting were probably 
quite 3,000. Afterwards it was changed to 
Bingley Hall, where thousands more might 
be accommodated. 

The afternoon Bible-reading is also well 
attended, and greatly enjoyed by many. 
The evening meetings have gone on, stead- 
ily increasing, until at length I suppose 
some 15,000 must have been congregated 
together. The attention of these great 
masses (assembled an hour before the 
time) was well sustained by singing — and, 
as a brother clergyman said to me, on the 
platform, " we never heard such singing of 
the good Old Hundreth Psalm before, and 
probably may never hear the like again" 
— as it burst forth from the hearts and lips 
of this vast assemblage. Oh ! it was a 
touching sight, and a telling sound — such 
as Birmingham itself had never witnessed 
before — 15,000 met together, night after 
night, to listen to the loving, sympathizing, 
fervent preaching of Jesus Christ, the 
Saviour of sinners ! And the audience 
felt it ! The Holy Spirit of God seemed 
working in our midst — alike on preacher 
and hearers — and many were the hearts 
moved. 

At 7:30 Messrs. Moody and Sankey 
entered the building. The service began 
by singing, then prayer was offered, another 
hymn or two were sung, a portion of Holy 
Scripture read, another hymn, and then 
followed the address. Numerous anec- 
dotes were related, as if not only to illus- 
trate certain points, but also to rivet the 
attention, and then, as the preacher's heart 
and tongue seemed set on fire, all these 
little adjuncts were submerged in the one 
glowing, burning theme — salvation for lost 
sinners — yea, a present and immediate sal- 
vation for every one that believeth in 
Jesus ! As I sat near the preacher, I 
could read the meaning of the big drops 
upon his brow, and how his whole frame 
was moved, not with selfish passions, seek- 
ing personal admiration, but steeped in 
the love and the spirit of his Master. One 
great object was kept steadily in view — 
the glory of God in the salvation of sin- 
ners through Jesus Christ, and the intense 
longing that thousands might share with 
him the blessings and the joys of this 



. 



great salvation ! Almost breathless 
stillness chained the audience. 

Numbers stayed for the after-meetings ; 
the females in the side galleries, the males 
in the Scotch Church adjoining. On the 
first Monday evening Mr. Moody himself 
undertook the men, but finding the num- 
bers so large, he sent up to the platform 
for assistance. Undoubtedly personal 
interviews are the best. 

We have reason to believe that many 
found pardon and peace in Jesus, and are 
spreading their happy and holy influences 
around. The singing appeared to be im- 
proving night after night, as the vast 
masses gradually learned the tunes and 
hymns. Mr. Sankey's solos were power- 
fully and sweetly sung, and his clear utter- 
ance and distinct enunciation of syllable 
after syllable gave a great effect and pathos 
to the whole. 

Many of my own people are deeply inter- 
ested, and though our parish is a suburb 
four miles from Birmingham, numbers con- 
tinually attend ; rich and poor seem thor- 
oughly to appreciate and enjoy it. I have 
also noticed clergymen coming in from all 
parts. 

And on Tuesday, Jan. 26, the day of the 
convention, it was supposed that from one 
to two thousand ministers of various de- 
nominations attended the gathering, which 
began that day at ten o'clock and contin- 
ued till four p. m. Truly it was a great 
evidence of the divine blessing, as the del- 
egates from Edinburgh, and Dublin, and 
other cities, told how the work was still 
progressing in their respective cities, after 
Messrs. Moody and Sankey had left, and 
in some places ripening in a most marvel- 
ous manner. Indeed, a letter reached me 
only yesterday, telling me of a brother 
clergyman in Dublin, who had a list of 
sixty persons in his congregation, who had 
apparently been brought to Christ through 
attending the meetings of Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey. 

Verily the Lord is blessing the evangel- 
istic labors of our dear brothers in Christ 
— Moody and Sankey. I do not pretend 
to endorse every utterance, or to see with 
them exactly, eye to eye, on every point. 
But I do see, and I do greatly rejoice in 
their being raised up by God to proclaim, 
so touchingly, and so successfully, the utter 
ruin of sinful, fallen man, and his recovery 
solely through faith in Jesus Christ ! 



BIRMINGHAM. 



119 



V. 

THE ALL-DAY CONVENTION 

on Tuesday was in every way a successful 
meeting. It was attended by immense 
crowds throughout the day, and many well- 
known ministers and others were present 
from London and various towns in the 
provinces, as well as Scotland and Ireland. 
Mr. Moody presided throughout the day 
with his usual tact and energy. 

The first hour was fitly devoted to praise, 
and Mr. Sankey's opening address was fol- 
lowed by powerful testimony to the value 
of the services by our brethren in Scotland 
and Ireland. All the speakers concurred 
in saying that a new song had been put 
into their mouths. 

Mr. Moody occupied the next hour with 
an address on " Work ; " and his trenchant 
words, uttered in the presence of so many 
Christian workers, were potent with bless- 
ing, in stimulating them to do more than 
ever for the Master in their widely-separ- 
ated vineyards. 

" How to conduct Prayer-meetings " was 
the next topic, and a most important one 
it is. We cannot better describe many of 
the prayer-meetings we have been accus- 
tomed to attend in past years than by com- 
paring them to "wet blankets." They 
have been characterized by so much frigid- 
ity and routine, that we do not wonder the 
attendance has mostly been small. Mr. 
Moody will have done us British Chris- 
tians a great and lasting service if he has 
been enabled to show how our prayer- 
meetings may be made broad and deep 
channels of blessing and happiness both to 
Christians and the careless world round 
about us. We look for this result. 

More important, perhaps, was the sub- 
ject of the next hour, " How to reach the 
masses." Whoever will solve that prob- 
lem will earn the unspeakable gratitude of 
all who sigh for the conversion of the na- 
tions to Christ. The rousing addresses of 
Mr. Chown, of Bradford; Mr. Newman 
Hall, of London; Mr. R. W. Dale, of 
Birmingham ; Mr. Fletcher, of Dublin, 
and others, all men of large experience, 
will, we trust, have contributed somewhat 
to this desired end. 

Mr. Moody was as practical as ever in 
his answers to the questions sent in ; and, 
if those who sent them will only apply 
those answers, we are inclined to think the 
hour devoted to the " Question Drawer " 
will be the most fruitful of any. 



In the evening a public service was held 
in the same place ; hundreds were unable 
to gain admission. The Rev. Newman 
Hall, of London, delivered an address, 
earnestly entreating all present to forsake 
sin and come to Christ. Mr. Moody, in 
his discourse, urged on his hearers imme- 
diate decision for Christ. 

Mr. Sankey's singing of sacred songs 
seems to make a deep impression upon the 
great congregation. 

At the meeting in Bingley Hall on Fri- 
day evening, Mr. Moody said : I was very 
dejected last night. Our meetings have 
been so much blessed that an effort was 
put forth to get Bingley Hall for another 
week. When we got home last evening, 
we found a dispatch from a gentleman, 
saying we could not have the hall. I was 
greatly depressed all day. Now, however, 
I have just been told we may yet obtain 
the hall for another week. But the com- 
mittee are wavering a little, as they have 
some fears the people will not come out to 
the meetings next week. We have good 
committees wherever we have been ; but 
we have never had a better committee 
than the Birmingham one, and I know 
they will come to a wise decision. But if 
you are anxious about your souls, you'll 
attend the meetings. We'll get several 
gentlemen to speak, and we hope you'll 
rally round them and the committee. We 
have had great blessings in other towns ; 
but I think we never met with anything 
that came up to this — to our meetings in 
Birmingham. I must say I've never en- 
joyed preaching the gospel more than I 
have done since we came to Birmingham. 
We've reached so many people. I only 
wish we could have such a hall wherever 
we go. I think if we could only take up 
Bingley Hall, we would carry it round the 
world with us, as a place in which to 
preach the gospel to all men. But I 
would like you Birmingham people to go 
with us. Well, then, if we do our best to 
get speakers for another week, will you do 
your best to get hearers for the speakers ? 
—(Many cries of "Yes," "yes.") Well, 
keep your promise. Why, almost any man 
could speak in this hall to such a meeting) 
as this. The very sight of you is enough > 
to make a dumb dog bark. I'll telegraph \ 
off to Liverpool and London to send us all ' 
the help they can. There will be a ser- 
vice on Sunday afternoon, when one of 
your own ministers will preach. On Mon- 
day night you'll have a thanksgiving ser- 



120 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 



vice. Come to it to thank God for hav- 
ing answered our prayers to bless these 
meetings. Has God not answered your 
prayers ?— (Cries of " Yes," yes.") Then 
on Tuesday we'll get some one else to 
speak. On Wednesday there will be the 
usual services in the churches and chapels. 
On Thursday night there will be another 
speaker. On Friday I will come back, on 
my way to Liverpool, and we'll have a 
meeting for all the converts. Now, let all 
rise who will support the committee and 
attend the different meetings. [Almost 
the entire audience stood up in response 
to this appeal.] Yes ; the committee are 
quite satisfied. We'll go on then. Pray 
there may be hundreds and thousands 
converted next week. If things do not 
always please you, don't complain; just 
pray. Pray for a great blessing next week. 



VI. 

THE FAREWELL MEETING. 

Services were held in Bingley Hall last 
week as follows: On Sunday afternoon 
Mr. Sankey conducted, and Rev. F. Gal- 
laway, and Messrs. J. B. Gould (Ameri- 
can Consul), and W. H. Greening (a mem- 
ber of Birmingham School Board), deliv- 
ered addresses. On Monday night Mr. R. 
W. Dale, M.A., and the Rev. Newman 
Hall (London), were the speakers; on 
Tuesday, the Rev. Newman Hall ; on 
Wednesday, the Rev. Donald Fraser (the 
well-known Presbyterian minister of Lon- 
don) ; and last (Thursday) evening, Mr. 
W. P. Lockhart, Liverpool. All these 
meetings have been well attended, from 
5,000 to 7,000 persons having been present 
at each. 

The Birmingham Morning News gives 
a long report of two services held there by 
Mr. William Nobbs, the converted police- 
man, and says : " Plain and unaffected, 
disdaining alike oddities of gesture, man- 
nerisms of speech, or adventitious, and it 
might be added meretricious, helps of all 
kinds, William Nobbs, with the same quiet 
force with which he might have narrated 
his evidence in a police-court, conducts 
his sermon. He has something important 
to say, and he says it in a clear, straight- 
forward manner. To him the Judge is 
"always present. The little Bible he holds 
in his hand is grasped much after the same 
fashion as if he had just sworn to speak 



' the whole truth, the sole truth, and 
nothing but the truth,' before a jury." 

Messrs. Moody and Sankey's farewell 
service at Birmingham was held on Friday 
evening, when the Bingley Hall was once 
more crowded to its utmost, nearly 1,600 
converts' tickets being applied for. It 
would be manifestly premature to assert 
that this number of people have been con- 
verted during the previous three weeks' 
services. As Mr. Moody said at the Con- 
ference in London, on the same day, they 
did not desire to reckon up the number of 
converts, because they could not judge of 
the reality of the cases. At the same time 
we think it very probable that many have 
been brought savingly to believe in Christ 
who did not apply for converts' tickets. 
In any case, the progress of the movement 
in Birmingham has been such as greatly to 
encourage and cheer our American breth- 
ren and those who helped them in their 
labors; and we respond to Mr. Moody's 
hope that it may " continue for a year." 

Mr. Moody's address to the converts 
was, as usual, most fitting. Pointing them 
to the true and only source of abiding 
strength, he warned them of the dangers 
ahead ; and we hope his words will dwell 
in their hearts for many a year to come. 
His parting sentences were the expression 
of affectionate regard, and it was plain, 
from the demeanor of the audience, that 
the parting on their side was a most re- 
luctant one. 

Mr. Sankey sang the farewell hymn 
with great pathos and feeling ; and on 
leaving the hall both he and Mr. Moody 
were beseiged with friends anxious to re- 
ceive a parting shake of the hand. They 
proceeded to Liverpool on Saturday. 

A Correspondent writes concerning 
this meeting : " We shall never forget that 
address." Such was the almost involun- 
tary exclamation of a well-dressed mechan- 
ic who was standing by us in the aisle of 
Bingley Hall. And truly the work of 
the Lord in this town is such as has never 
before been seen here. We were praying 
and expecting great things, but the bless- 
ing has exceeded our expectations; never 
before have the people of every class been 
so moved and such glorious results fol- 
lowed. A week having elapsed since Mr. 
Moody left us, we are enabled to speak in 
a measure of results. First, the life of the 
ministers who have taken part has been 
largely increased, so that the testimony of 



BIRMINGHAM. 



121 



many of the hearers last Sunday was, 
" Our minister preaches like a new man;" 
then the renewed life of the churches is 
already manifesting itself in the desire to 
work either in Sunday-schools or tract 
districts ; and besides this the people out- 
side are more disposed to hear the gospel, 
many coming into our churches last Sun- 
day, and in more cases than one when 
notice was given out after the service that 
inquirers would be spoken to, numbers 
varying from twenty to sixty passed into 
the vestry, and many rejoiced in a new- 
found Saviour. In our own chapel we 
have had services nightly, conducted by 
our brother, Mr. Nobbs, of Gloucester, 
and such a gracious time we never knew 
before, on each occasion the chapel being 
crowded, and many coming after into the 
vestry and going home happy in Jesus. 
Our hearts are indeed full of praise ; 
should we be silent the stones might well 
cry out, " But we will bless the Lord from 
this time forth, and forevermore." 



VII. 

I venture to follow my letter of a 
fortnight since with a second upon the 
work of God through Mr. Moody's faith- 
ful uplifting of Christ, and Mr. Sankey's 
singing of the songs of peace. I know of 
no one of the many blessed hymns which 
has more struck the heart and arrested at- 
tention than that sweet one whose chorus 
begins, " Oh, 'twas love, 'twas wondrous 
love, the love of God to me." This love 
and its manifestation is the theme of every 
sermon, and, of course, God owns it. 
Ministers wonder at failure, and try to dis- 
cover the cause ; a week of services such 
as Birmingham has had for the last fort- 
night, I think must answer the question, 
"What is the cause of failure?" for we 
have seen in the crowded meetings, in the 
overwhelming number of anxious ones, in 
the utter breaking down of strong men, 
the secret of success. The wondrous love 
of God has been the weapon which has 
been used ; failure in using this weapon 
has been the cause of failure in result. 
Never has Birmingham been so mightily 
moved ; in the workshops Sankey's songs 
are sung, and men who cared for none of 
these things are anxiously inquiring after 
the good news. Oh, may our God carry 
on the work begun with mighty power. 



VIII. 

I must write you a few lines, according 
to promise, of what the impressions made 
on my mind are by the few days spent in 
Birmingham in connection with the work 
of our friends, Messrs. Moody and Sankey. 

The first thing I will notice is the evi- 
dence the work gives of the power of the 
simple preaching of the cross of Christ. 
The singing, no doubt, attracts many ; but 
the power is not in the singing, but in 
what is sung. It is the old story of a Sav- 
iour's love to a lost world that thrills the 
hearts of those who hear it sung, and that 
helps to swell the vast audience that daily, 
and often twice a day, and on Sundays four 
times a day, draws together vaster crowds 
than, perhaps, were ever drawn together 
consecutively for any political or scientific 
object. 

Christ meets every need, heals every dis- 
ease, and wipes away every tear ; and it is 
the simple declaration of this that gathers 
the crowds now, as it did nineteen centu- 
ries ago on the mountains and plains of 
Galilee. The infidel is prone to say that 
Christianity is dead, and does not meet the 
need of the age. These meetings show 
that it is alive, and still meets the need of 
all who come to the healing stream. As in 
the days of our Lord's personal ministry 
thousands followed who went away, and 
were none the better, so it is now. But 
when hundreds stand up at the close of an 
earnest, simple gospel address, as we have 
witnessed at these meetings, desiring to be 
prayed for, and wishing to become Chris- 
tians, there is a power from God which it 
must rejoice every true-hearted child of 
biis to witness or to hear of. 

The next thing I would remark on is the 
irectness of the preaching of Christ, the 
lifting up of the Lord himself, that charac- 
terizes the ministry. Dogmatic teaching 
will not serve ; we need a personal Christ, 
brought near to the personal need of the 
sinner. And this is a marked feature of 
the work, and one which all engaged in the 
preaching of the gospel will do well to pon- 
der, and see whether the secret of the gen- 
eral want of power felt be not that theories. 
of truth have taken the place of the living! 
truth itself. Mr. Moody lifts up a living 
Christ, and makes his hearers almost think 
they hear His footfall, and listen to His 
voice. Christ lives in his ministry. 

Firstly. Christians are led to realize the 
fact that they are, firstly and chiefly 



122 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 






fellow-disciples of the same Lord, having 
in the gospel by which they are saved, 
and which they preach, a common ground 
of evangelistic effort, which, while it does 
not call for a compromise of the smallest 
truth, holds paramount the living truth of 
a common Saviour and a common salva- 
tion. This is no small gain in this day of 
narrow sectarianism and Pharisaic exclu- 
siveness. May all be willing to say, as our 
brother Moody said on one occasion, " If 
I have one drop of sectarian blood in my 
veins, I would gladly pour it out !" 

Secondly. An uncompromising testimony 
against a worldly Christianity that would 
seek to take as much of this world as 
would not absolutely rob the soul of the 
world to come. Unflinchingly our brother 
exposes the shame and sorrow of a world- 
bordering life. He would give his Lord 
all, under the influence of the grace of the 
all that has been received ; and this in a 
manner that will be very simple and very 
new to many of his hearers, who may have 
been Christians like Lot in Sodom, almost, 
perhaps, ever since they were converted. 
We shall not readily forget the gold chain 
that had become so tarnished in a man's 
pocket, from contact with some lead there, 
that he was giving it back, thinking it a 
fraud. And Mr. Moody added, "The 
gold will be tarnished by the lead, but the 
lead will not take up the gold.' The 
world draws down one that seeks its fellow- 
ship, but is not drawn up by him. 

Thirdly. We would notice the great prom- 
inence given to working for Christ. He 
remembers the work, " To every man his 
work," and, in the deep earnestness of his 
own conviction of the joy of working for 
such a Master, would he press it on all, 
and lead many to find in it a remedy for 
coldness of heart and lifelessness of walk, 
and many a life-long sorrow. 

Mr. Moody's addresses to Christian 
workers are full of plain, common-sense di- 
rections, wherein is no mystery, and which 



commend themselves to the judgment of 
all faithful men. There may be a little 
danger of a forgetfulness of that commun- 
ion with God which can alone give work 
a tone and character which will make it 
what the work of Him was who spent His 
days in labor, and His nights in communion 
with God. This element is, perhaps, a lit- 
tle wanting, but to most the call is sorely 
needed, "Rise, and be doing;" "Work, 
for the night is coming." May that little 
song, " Nothing but leaves," linger long in 
the hearts of all who heard it sung, and 
lead to many sheaves and fewer leaves. 

Fourthly. I think we see that there is a 
power in the gospel to reach the masses. 
Hard and careless many are, but there are 
soft moments in the hardest heart, and 
anxious forebodings not unfrequently fill 
the most careless soul. There are hours 
and days, weeks and months, of divine vis- 
itation, when many will gladly listen, if a 
fitting person and a fitting place be pro- 
vided. They know not what they want ; 
they know not where to find it ; but we, 
who know the sinner's want, and know 
where it is to be met, are responsible for 
so presenting it, and for so providing for 
its presentation, that the subject and the 
place shall fall within the reach of needy 
and often thirsting souls. 

After much had been said about reach- 
ing the masses, Mr. Moody wound the 
question up in these few words, " Go and 
fetch them." 

But may God keep His people from 
seeking to reach those outside by leveling 
up and leveling down, as if to meet God 
and the world half-way. Let the heights 
and the depths remain, as they ever will, 
in fact, remain, and seek the power of the 
invisible, almighty arm that lifts out of the 
one, and places the sinner's feet firm on 
the other, in one mighty act, that lifts from 
the dust to the throne. There are no 
steps here. 



The Evangelists began their labors at Liverpool on Sunday morning, 
February 7th, in Victoria Hall. This building, erected for the purpose, 
will seat 8,000 persons, and in the morning Mr, Moody addressed 4,500 
" Christian Workers." At the afternoon meeting the house was crowded 
in every part, and thousands went away unable to gain admission. 

%* The Supplementary Narrative will begin with the work in Liverpool, 
and follow it through the other parts of England. This will be issued in April 
or May next. 



HYMNS 



AND 



Songs of Praise 



FOR 



PUBLIC AND SOCIAL WORSHIP. 



EDITED BY 



ROSWELL D. HITCHCOCK, ZACHARY EDDY, 
PHILIP SCHAFF. 



NEW YORK: 

ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY, 

770 Broadway. 



The New Hymn and Tune Book. 



YMNS AND SONGS OF PRAISE, for Public and 
Social Worship, edited by the Rev. Drs. Roswell 
D. Hitchcock, Zachary Eddy, and Philip Schaff. 
Containing 600 pages, 141 1 Hymns, and 450 Tunes and 
Chants; elegantly printed on superfine paper, and substantially 
bound. Price, $2.50, with a liberal discount for introduction. 



I 



The book has been ready only a few weeks, and has already received 
the following notices, and been introduced into several churches. 

From a Pastor in Illinois. — " I must present to the editors my warmest thanks and 
congratulations. . . Nothing has so completely satisfied me, both as regards music and 
song. As a contribution to the history of psalmody in authorship and data, it has un- 
precedented value. . . . While some endeared hymns are wanting, I find fewer prosaic 
and feeble rhymes than in any collection of comparable size with which I am acquainted." 

From a Pastor in Massachussetts. — " I am full of satisfaction with it. It contents 
me, and we shall look no further. The music and the hymns are superior to anything 
yet issued." 

From another Pastor in Massachussetts. — " It is all that I expected, and more too ; 
and I expected great things from these authors. I well knew that they could do great 
things upon occasion, and they have certainly done it in this Hymn Book, and outdone 
themselves." 

From the New York Evangelist. — " If there be any fault to be found with the multi- 
plication of hymn-books, there is at least this compensating advantage, that the very 
competition tends to raise the general standard of excellence. Here now is a ^ery beau- 
tiful volume, just issued from the press of Randolph, which in fullness, in completeness, 
and especially in the selection of hymns from sources the most various ; translated out 
of other languages, as well as taken from our own English tongue ; and often brought 
from ages long past and lands far remote ; would have been quite impossible a few 
years ago. 

" In this respect it has a great advantage, from being so largely the work of two of 
the most eminent Christian scholars of this country — Professors Hitchcock and Schaff — 
who bring to it all the resources of their learning. Familiar with the history of the 
early Christian Church, it might be expected that they would gather much from the 
wide range of their own chosen studies, and that many a precious old Latin hymn, dear 
to the Church in the early ages, would impart a peculiar flavor and sweetness to this 
collection, in which the modern Church is to celebrate the worship of her King. But 
while comprising many gems of this kind, the book is, of course, much more full in 
modern hymns, born of that new religious life which, since the Reformation, has been 
felt so strongly in Germany, in England, and in America. Dr. Eddy is well known as 
one who has made a study of English hymnology, and has already ' exercised him- 
self ' in such matters. 



"The collection, which is the joint product of three such masters, comprises over 
1,400 hymns, with tunes for the purposes of public and social worship, The date and 
the author of each hymn, so far as they could be ascertained by patient investigation, 
are given with it. Many new pieces are inserted, which well deserve the space they 
occupy, while the best of the old and familiar ones have been retained. 

" The musical editing has been done by John K. Paine, Professor of Music in Har- 
vard University, and U. C. Burnap, organist of the church on the Heights in Brooklyn, 
assisted by James Flint, organist in Orange, N. J. The typographical style of the 
work, in the small quarto which has become so common, is excellent, and does credit 
to the publishers. 

" We congratulate these gentlemen on the completion of what has been a very labori- 
ous task. It has been known for some time that Drs. Hitchcock, Schaff and Eddy 
were engaged in preparing a Book of Hymns, and the eminence of the compilers has 
naturally attracted attention to the work which they should bring forth. But it has 
taken far more time and labor than they anticipated. Still they have pursued it with 
unflagging ardor for months, and even for years, and the completed work is but just 
offered to the public. Of its merits, as compared with similar collections, others, who 
are experts in such matters, will be better able to judge than we. One thing we may 
safely assert, even from our own brief examination, that is, its own intrinsic excellence, 
which is certainly very great, As such we commend it to the careful attention of a 
discriminating and music-loving public." 

From the New York Observer. — "There is no respect in which the freedom of the 
press is more emphatically asserted in this country than in the preparation and publi- 
cation of hymn-books. We have sometimes been disposed to deprecate their multipli- 
cation, but the research and criticism to which it gives rise, and the discussions which 
are awakened, are purifying to the taste of the Church and the public. We cordially 
welcome this new offering for public and social worship. It is the result of years of 
labor on the part of three well-known divines, Professors Hitchcock and Schaff, of the 
New York Union Theological Seminary, and Dr. Eddy of the Congregational Church. 
They have brought to the work eminent learning, good taste and sound judgment, 
which are more desirable qualities in a compiler than originality in the composition of 
hymns. We have not had time for a complete examination of the collection, but we 
have looked over it with some degree of care and with a critical eye, and thus far do not 
find a single poor hymn in the more than 1,400 that are comprised in it. A large col- 
lection is now demanded by the great diversity of taste that prevails in the Church, and 
by the immense number of excellent hymns that have been written. Very few of the 
special favorites of any one will be found wanting in this. 

" The type is large and clear ; the music, with the text of the hymns, is very hand- 
somely printed, and the whole style of the page is inviting. The music h as been edited 
by competent Professors. We feel safe in predicting that this latest compilation of 
hymns and tunes will speedily become a favorite among the Churches." 

From a Pastor in Western New York. — "I am very much gratified with the 
book ; faultless in mechanical execution, it is unapproachably rich in the treasures of 
Sacred Song, and the marriage with music is all that can be desired." 

From an Organist in Wisconsin. — " It will give me great pleasure to highly 
recommend the book, which I dearly love to turn to, finding each time fresh surprises 
in the way of beautiful old and new hymns, set to excellent music, mostly familiar ; 
then, too, the hymns are so complete, and the authors and translators so correctly 
given, that it is a pleasure to read them, whether one can sing or not." 

An edition without tunes is now ready. A chapel edition, containing 400 hymns 
with tunes, is in active preparation. 

ANSON D. F; RANDOLPH & COMPANY, 

770 Broadway, Cor. 9th St., New York. 

*** Should you desire a copy for examination, with a view to its introduction, we will 
send it by mail, prepaid, on receipt of $1.60. 



Report of the Committee of a Church in Massachusetts on a Hymn and Tune 

Book. 

At the annual meeting of the Church, in January, a Committee was appointed — 
" To examine and see if any Hymn and Tune Book could be found better promo- 
tive of congregational singing than the one now in use." 

Subsequently, the Parish, at its annual meeting, joined the Church in its action, 
and concurred in the appointment of the same Committee. 

The Committee appointed a sub-committee to enter into a critical examination of 
books brought to their notice, and they reported to the Committee the result of their 
investigation, which was adopted and recommended to be brought before the Church 
and Congregation. It should be said that great credit is due to one member of the 
Committee for a patient and thorough examination of the music of these books. 

The Committee have had four books under consideration — the latest and most 
prominent issued for this purpose. 

The first was " The Songs of the Sanctuary," a book widely adopted, and 
deservedly popular. It was soon set aside for our purpose — for two reasons — it being 
compiled as a compromise between choir and congregational singing, and contained, 
ist, very many tunes too difficult for a congregation to sing; and 2d, fifty pages 
of hymns without tunes. 

The second was " The Book of Praise" published at Hartford. In externals, it 
did not commend itself, while its selection of hymns was found to be too limited. 

The third was " The Church Hymn Book" compiled by Dr. Hatfield. It was 
thoroughly examined, and found to be superior to anything yet issued. It contained 
more familiar tunes and a larger collection of hymns. 

The infelicity of the book was discovered to be an alteration of many of the tunes 
so as to constitute really a new harmony, which, though an improvement, yet 
would be an objection, while the hymns were strictly and rigidly retained in their 
original forms, often when accepted and familiar alterations were a manifest 
improvement. 

The Committee would, however, have been unanimous in recommending this 
book as best for our purpose, but subsequently to their examination, there appeared 
another book : 

The fourth, "Hymns and Songs of Praise" edited by Drs. Hitchcock, Eddy, 
and Schaff. 

This book claimed attention from the reputed character of its compilers as well 
as the reputation of its musical editors, Professors Paine and Burnap, the former 
of Harvard University. It is after examining this book that they have come to the 
unanimous conclusion that it is the best for congregational singing of any yet issued. 
It combines in itself points of excellence found in all the others — though not in any 
one — and is open to less objection. 



These points may be classified as follows : 

i. A book of better binding, finer paper, clearer type, and fuller indexes. 

2. A selection of Hymns, containing : 

(i.) More that have not been in use, fresh hymns of special merit from unusual 
sources. 

(2.) An unusual number about Christ and His work, hymns peculiarly rich and 
vital in Christian sentiment and experience. 

(3.) A large number suitable for family worship, so that the book may be used 
as a manual of worship. 

We find these hymns in their most approved forms. 

The music of the book is especially adapted to congregational singing, con- 
taining an unusual variety, as follows : 

(1.) A large number of standard familiar tunes. 
(2.) A goodly number of chorals. 
(3.) The best of our own composers. 

(4.) Many popular tunes endeared to us in the prayer-meeting and the Sabbath- 
school. 

They notice that these tunes have been written — 

(a) With full harmonies, there being but a very small number of duets. 

(b) With few exceptions upon the major key. 

(c) And rarely, if ever, with rests for the whole congregation. 

(d) In many instances upon lower keys than is usual. 

They find that the adaptation of the words and music is in remarkably good 
taste. 

They find more music from the great authors than in other books — music that 
will wear, and never wear out. The good congregational English tune, like York ; 
and the German choral, like Nuremberg ; and the lighter music of American com- 
position. 

The tunes are some of them difficult, but very few that cannot be mastered by 
this congregation. 

This book being the last issued, has availed itself of all the advantages of its 
predecessors, and, in the opinion of the Committee, is the best for our use, and supe- 
rior to anything yet published. 

In this opinion they are confirmed by the favorable judgment of others outside 
of the Committee, in whose hands they placed the book. 

The Committee have fulfilled the work for which they were appointed. 

They do not anticipate that anything better will be issued for years, and they 
recommend — if a change is made— the " Hymns and Songs of Praise." 



From a Pastor in Michigan. 

" Having given the Hymns and Songs of Praise a deliberate and discriminating 
examination, it may be well to specify some of its conspicuous elements of excel- 
lence. First, it may be doubted whether a more complete collection of the best 
hymns can be found. It is a thesaurus of sacred lyrics, compiled from all authors, 
tongues, and ages. Here are more than 1,400 hymns, gathered, with a catholic, im- 
partiality, from the world's museum of sacred song. The collection has high his- 
toric value, for we are furnished with the names of composers, whether of hymns 
or harmonies, with the date of their birth and death, and of the composition of the 
tune or poem. Amid such a host and variety of hymns and tunes ; all types of 
taste ; all shades of experience, find their affinities. And we are agreeably sur- 
prised to see that in the compilation, the editors have been guided not only by their 
own severely classic preferences, but also by the popular voice. 

" Many hymns, lamentably lacking in lyrical and rhetorical merit, are so linked to 
the love and life of disciples of Christ, that no book of hymns would be complete 
without them. 

"Among the specially admirable features of this book of praise, are the judicious 
care and caution with which alterations upon the original text of hymns have been 
admitted or excluded ; the absence of all needless abridgment ; the natural but 
artistic arrangement and classification ; the peculiar fullness and completeness of the 
indexes of subjects, Scripture texts paraphrased or illustrated, and of first lines of 
hymns and verses. But the crowning excellence of the book is its truly Christian 
theology. Jesus Christ and holy living are central and supreme. 

" It is but fair to say, that these great excellences are not offset by correspond- 
ingly glaring defects. If you want a familiar hymn for home use, or sanctuary ser- 
vice, it is both easily found and easily read. 

" You are not confused and vexed by frequent changes in the text. If anew tune 
stands above it, the old melody you have long sung to it is just opposite ; and very 
few, if any, hymns will be discovered which represent and perpetuate a vicious type 
of either doctrine or experience.'' 



From a Bookseller in Illinois, 

" The church has decided to adopt the Hymns and Songs of Praise, and this 

after a very careful examination by large and competent committees." 



From a Pastor in New Jersey, 

" We have voted to adopt the Hymns and Songs of Praise, as the best book yet 
published." 






"NA R RAT IVE 



OF 



THE AWAKEN I N G-." 



Under this title the London publishers have issued the numbers of 
the British Evangelist, from January to May, 1874. While these 
numbers bring down the Narrative of the Labors of Messrs. Moody 
and Sankey only to May, they contain the reports of Mr. Moody's 
Addresses on " The Blood," " The Lord's Workers," " Behold ;" the 
All-Day Meeting Addresses, including Mr. Moody's on " Heaven j" the 
Addresses at the Convention, what Mr. Moody said at the Elders' Con- 
ference, Noon-day Meeting Addresses, and Mr. Moody's Farewell 
Address to the Eleven Hundred and Fifty Young Converts on Friday, 
January 16, and his Farewell Words at Noon on that day, and also on 
Tuesday, January 20, with numerous incidents connected with his services, 
and much information in regard to other religious movements in 
various parts of the United Kingdom. They are also replete with wise 
suggestions to Christian Workers. 

%* One volume, 384 pages, in stout paper covers, $1.25. Sent by 
mail, prepaid, oh receipt of the price. 

ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY, 

770 Broadway, Cor. 9th St., New York. 

In Ordering the volume, please quote the title as above. 



-►-* 



SACRED SONGS AND SOLOS, 

As Sung by Ira D. Sankey, 

At Messrs. Moody and Sankey's Meetings in Scotland, Ireland,, and 
elsewhere. Containing over 60 Hymns and Tunes, including " There 
were Ninety and Nine," " Tell me the Old, Old Story," "Almost Per- 
suaded," etc., etc. One volume. Sixty Cents. 
Sent by mail, prepaid, on receipt of price by 

ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY, 

770 Broadway, New York. 



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